false

That is the answer to the "should Chicago lease it's water" question. Doing this is terrible for any lessor (?). Didn't work in Bolivia. Didn't work in Atlanta. Water is a right. You cannot live without it and should not have to do anything to earn it. Period.

Here are some quick hits of how bad water leasing is:

Mayors from Homer Glen to Urbana are threatening municipal takeovers of their local water systems, moved by complaints about skyrocketing rates and lackluster
service from corporate operators. Fort Wayne, Ind., already wrested away part of its water system and is seeking to buy back the rest after accusing a private operator of putting shareholder interests before those of customers.

And the Grand Marshall of U.S. Water Lease failures, Atlanta:

"Water is critical to a city's future management and growth," said Rob Hunter, Atlanta's commissioner of watershed management. "It's not something you want to turn over to somebody else."

That from their current mayor who is a bit wiser than the previous mayor who signed the leasing contract and is currently in jail.