Mayors attack water company's 'push polls'

CHAMPAIGN – The mayors of Champaign and Urbana came out swinging Friday against Illinois American Water Co., charging that telephone surveys the company conducted this week were "push polls" designed to turn residents against the possibility of the cities purchasing the local water system.

At an afternoon news conference, Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing called the telephone surveys "hardball politics" that Illinois American and its parent company, American Water, have used in other cities that attempted to purchase their water systems from the companies.

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