By Sabrina L. Miller

Saying that taxpayers should no longer bear sole responsibility for treating children suffering from lead poisoning, the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit Thursday against major manufacturers of lead-based paint.

"Chicago taxpayers have borne the costs of treating lead poisoning in children for too long," said Corporation Counsel Mara Georges at a news conference at the Uptown Health Center. "The industry should be forced to contribute its fair share."

Lead-based paint was banned for residential use in Chicago 30 years ago and banned for sale by the federal government in 1978. Yet Chicago maintains the highest rate of lead poisoning among children in the nation.

More than 12,000 children tested positive for lead poisoning in Chicago last year, and the city spends millions annually on treatment, services and abatement, said Anne Evens, director of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at the city's Department of Public Health ( news - web sites).

Full story at Chicago Tribune