Michael Madigan & Richard M Daley Corruption Tax - Chicago's new $9.50-per-month trash fee on April water bills

Chicago’s $9.50-a-month garbage collection fee will be tacked on to water bills beginning in April, but it can be paid throughout the year without fear of late fees or water cut-offs, a top mayoral aide said Friday.

Budget Director Alex Holt said the decision to lift the hammer — at least for another year — is tailor-made to ease the transition to a fee that’s a suburban staple, but an uncomfortable first for Chicago.

The decision to be lenient also stems from the fact that the fee is being implemented in April, but took effect on Jan. 1. That means 613,000 Chicago owners of single-family homes and two-, three- and four-flats will be asked to pay catch-up for those months when the unified billing system was being implemented.