Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of Chicago’s 1995 heat wave, a multiday scorcher that ended in an estimated 739 deaths.
Community organizer Caesar Thompson was a teenager in 1995. His father’s best friend was among those who died from heat stroke during the heat wave. The friend was in his 50s and lived in an attic apartment in Chatham.
“People found him, and he never woke up,” Thompson told reporters at a July 11th press conference outside the historic Quinn Chapel AME Church. “That’s a person who was robbed from us. He shouldn’t have died that way. He should have had a place to sleep that wasn’t 100 degrees.”
The majority of those who died in the ‘95 heat wave were Black, elderly and living in distressed conditions in underserved communities on the South and West sides.
Hosted by the People’s Response Network, Thompson stood beside health care workers, organizers and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) at the presser. They outlined where gaps still persist today in the city’s response to extreme weather events like heat waves, floods, tornadoes and extreme cold, which are occurring much more frequently due to climate change.
They also debuted a temporary outdoor art installation to remember those lost during the ‘95 heat wave and the community areas hit hardest by the weather phenomenon.
The 1995 heat wave lasted from July 12 to July 16. Temperatures reached a high of 106 degrees on the second day.
During the heat wave, North Lawndale had a death rate that was 10 times higher than that of neighboring Little Village, according to Eric Klinenberg’s book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy Disaster in Chicago.
“Many people weren’t able to open the door to let us in, and then we’d have to call the police and find out what was going on with them,” said Vanessa Crim-Willis, a nurse representing the Chicago Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association.
Recalling her experience as a home health nurse in 1995, Crim-Willis said some of her clients died by the time they made it to the hospital. The problem wasn’t just the heat; it was also about keeping patients hydrated. She implored Chicago residents to do wellness checks on the elderly, unhoused or those with disabilities during extreme weather conditions.
“Trying to get [help for] the clients I was taking care of, it was impossible,” she said.
When degrees jump into the 100s, our bodies work harder to maintain stable body temperatures, which can put pressure on the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Extreme heat exposure can be fatal for people with preexisting conditions.
Dr. Howard Ehrman, PRN co-founder and former Chicago Department of Health commissioner, was a doctor at Cook County Hospital during the 1995 heat wave. He recalled people dying from heat stroke on the way to the hospital. Some patients had an internal body temperature of over 100 degrees.
“Chicago has to do much better, otherwise there’s going to be more deaths on its hands,” Erhman said.
Ehrman said it’s not enough to remind people to drink water during heat waves. He and PRN are urging the city to take several measures to better prepare for extreme weather events, such as:
- opening all six cooling centers, all public libraries, air-conditioned fieldhouses, senior centers and other public facilities when the heat index is 80 or greater.
- establishing additional citywide cooling centers that are open 24 hours a day.
- sending air-conditioned CTA buses to encampments of the unhoused, Chicago Housing Authority renters and senior homes.
- having non-police building inspectors and health and social service workers conduct wellness and heat index checks in areas with the highest poverty rates and unhoused encampments.
The city currently has six cooling community centers and they’re open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
People who don’t have access to air conditioning can also seek respite at libraries, park districts and Chicago City Colleges as alternatives. Additional public spaces for cooling can be found here.
However, those alternatives were all closed this year on the Juneteenth federal holiday, when Chicago was in the midst of a days-long heat wave, Howard said.
Window air conditioners and central air conditioning are now much more common in homes and public spaces than in 1995. Still, Erhman said high energy costs during the summer months make it so some people opt not to turn on the AC in their homes.
A heat study, conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), found that historically redlined areas were significantly hotter than those not redlined.
“There are thousands of people on the South and West sides who have an air conditioner but won’t turn it on. The city has to provide alternative cooling options with mobile CTA buses; they have to open up libraries,” Erhman said.
Friday’s day of remembrance concluded with a screening of Cooked: Survival By Zip Code, a PBS documentary film retelling the story of the heatwave.
An additional screening of Cooked will take place on July 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Columbus Park Refectory, located at 5701 W. Jackson Blvd. It is free to attend. Details can be found here.
Mayor Brandon Johnson will attend the screening and deliver remarks. He will be joined by representatives from the Chicago Department of Environment and the Defusing Disasters Working Group. A panel discussion on the city’s heat vulnerability index, a new data-driven tool developed by Northwestern University and partners, will follow the documentary screening.
