As Gina Ramirez buckled her 11-year-old son into her car for their drive to school, she handed him a plastic water bottle.

“I would love to be able to have him put a cup under the tap if he was thirsty,” Ramirez said.

She can’t.

Ramirez lives in a home on the Southeast Side that’s serviced by a lead water pipe — a toxic relic found in most old homes in the city and many across the country. Exposure to lead can cause serious health harms, including neurological, kidney and reproductive issues. Infants and young children are particularly susceptible.

A longtime activist, Ramirez knows that she and many of her neighbors have lead pipes in a community where residents are already overburdened by toxic pollutants in the air and soil. She also knows Chicago is lagging behind federal requireme

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