Two days into the year’s first heatwave, health and community advocates say Chicago’s response should ensure vulnerable residents have access to cooling once the sun goes down.
Heat waves typically hit the city’s poorest populations on the South Side and West Side the hardest. And yet the city has not meaningfully changed its response to dangerously high temperatures, which usually includes public messaging about cooling centers that operate during daytime hours, experts said.
This city should be doing much more for these vulnerable residents, said Lonette Sims, chairperson of the advocate group People’s Response Network.
Sims called on City Hall to deploy more outreach teams and cooling buses directly to homeless encampments and low-income neighborhoods. She says it’s a strategy that other municipalities have adapted.
She has also called for temporary utility shutoff moratoriums during heat emergencies so residents are not forced to choose between paying their electric bills and running their air conditioning.
“We feel a need to keep pushing for the city of Chicago to be more preventative,” Sims said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Having a cool place at night can be a matter and life and death.
That’s especially true for older residents and the unhoused, who typically have fewer options once public cooling centers close in the evening.
“One of the most dangerous things about heat waves is when the temperatures do go down at night,” said Dr. Sheetal Rao, assistant professor of medicine and public health at the University of Illinois Chicago. That’s “because our body needs to have rest and a break from the heat,” Rao said.
That danger is real for vulnerable populations this week, as expected overnight temperatures remain in the upper 70s and low 80s, providing little recovery time after days with heat indexes exceeding 100 degrees.
“The stress and strain, the dehydration and the poor sleep can build up over several days and lead to worsened outcomes, especially in vulnerable populations,” Rao said. “Medically, people need a place to cool down 24 hours a day during this level of extreme heat.”
Sims’ organization participated in a 2023 urban heat mapping initiative that found temperatures swung between some parts of the city. On one summer day, Rogers Park on the North Side was 20 degrees cooler than Archer Heights on the Southwest Side, for instance.
Poorer neighborhoods tend to have less trees and shade, leading to more intense overnight temperatures and limited relief for residents without reliable air conditioning. Those neighborhood also tend to have large areas of concrete and asphalt that absorb and retain heat long after sunset. Some of these communities are farther from Lake Michigan.
Northwestern University researchers have studied tens of thousands of data points over the past three years to determine who is most likely to get sick or die from extremely hot weather.
Last year, they presented the findings to City Hall along with 30 recommendations, including more cooling centers, though it’s not clear how many ideas are being embraced by the city. An updated presentation to the city is expected in the coming weeks.
Northwestern also presented the city with a survey of about 500 residents who suggested battling heat waves with more greenspaces, water stations at bus and train stops and a number of other ideas. City officials said at the time they would review the suggestions.
The city’s response has changed little over past administrations despite decades of research showing the dangers of prolonged heat exposure, said former Chicago Department of Public Health Assistant Commissioner Dr. Howard Ehrman.
He told the Sun-Times that outreach should focus on predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods, where residents are more likely to have chronic health conditions that increase the risk of heat-related illness.
Monica Dillon, a registered nurse who spent years conducting homeless outreach in Chicago, said she has repeatedly watched under-privileged residents struggle to find safe places to escape the heat after business hours.
“The city’s plan is to just send everybody to buildings that are already open from 9 to 5,” Dillon said. “These places are not prepared to accept people en masse anyway.”
Dillon said Chicago’s emergency plan should adopt overnight and weekend options. She pointed to Cook County’s 24-hour courthouse warming and cooling centers, including the Skokie courthouse, as an example of a more accessible model. The facilities allow people to remain indoors around the clock, provide water and snacks and even accommodate pets.
“Ideally, each community really needs to have their own hub, 24/7, available to accommodate everybody in that community,” Dillon said.
Contributing: Brett Chase