That's really sad. The article is also surprising to me because in my area there are a lot of public pools, many of which have been recently built. Staffing and maintenance isn't a problem either - for example [1]. I'm in the suburbs instead of the city, and the current trend is for every suburb to compete to have the nicest pool and amenities. The one nearest to me has water slides and a lazy river, a diving well that includes a 3-meter diving board, etc.
But if you want to know why they take swimming seriously, it's a safety issue: [2]
But if you want to know why they take swimming seriously, it's a safety issue: [2]
[1] https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicagos-77-public-poo...
[2] https://glsrp.org/statistics/