As climate change increases the frequency and length of this kind of lingering, humid heat in the region<\/a>, many scientists and health care workers are wrestling with the question: Could another extreme heat crisis arise in Chicago?<\/p>\n \u201cIf we take the exact same meteorological event we had in 1995 and plop it down in today\u2019s society, I don\u2019t think we\u2019d have 700 premature deaths,\u201d said Daniel Horton, a professor at Northwestern University and co-lead of a working group<\/a> that is developing a heat vulnerability index for Chicago. \u201cBecause AC is much more prevalent \u2026 and people are much more aware of the danger of heat.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 1995, messaging around the dangers of extreme heat has improved in Chicago, and air conditioning has become more common. But today, there are still numerous challenges to ensuring the public is protected during extreme weather. Among these:<\/p>\n An assistant health commissioner for the city of Chicago under Mayor Harold Washington and later an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago until 2022, Ehrman has in recent years taken on an activist role with groups like the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization. In 2020, he co-founded the People\u2019s Response Network, a group that is pushing to expand the city\u2019s health network and social services.<\/p>\n While preparedness for heat waves has improved since 1995, the way Chicago counts heat deaths is \u201csubjective,\u201d Ehrman said. He wants the city to gather and release data from hospitals about whether the mortality rate rises during heat waves, rather than publicizing only those deaths that have heat listed as a factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf Mr. Smith dies at home or on the way to Cook County Hospital or at the hospital, and he\u2019s got four or five major underlying conditions, there will almost never be a doctor who will put heat on the death certificate,\u2019\u2019 Ehrman said. \u201cSo that\u2019s the huge problem. Heat-related deaths (are) a massive undercount.\u201d<\/p>\n Silent killer<\/p>\n Experts often refer to extreme heat as a silent killer: It sneaks up on people, and its symptoms can be subtle. And that subtle but very real danger was on full display in July 1995.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened \u2014 in terms of fatalities, especially \u2014 was kind of a slow evolution, a slow disaster,\u201d said Mike Bardou, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Chicago. \u201cThe effects of heat on the body are cumulative. It\u2019s not necessarily an immediate thing.\u201d<\/p>\n On July 12, after days of continuous rain, a musty heat spread across the Chicago region and temperatures soared with a record-high heat index of about 126 degrees. It had climbed, and stayed, well past the level required to trigger the city\u2019s emergency heat plan. Instead of raising the alarm, city leaders waited three days before warning residents.<\/p>\n Mark Razter, a 28-year-old meteorologist less than a year into his job at the National Weather Service, was driving home from a weather conference in St. Louis that day. Nothing seemed unusual except that it was uncomfortably warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we knew it was hot,\u201d said Ratzer, the only meteorologist currently working at the weather service who was also there 30 years ago. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think anybody, going into it, had an appreciation for quite the severity that it was going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n By the time officials declared a state of emergency and the rising number of heat deaths started dominating the news cycle, Ratzer said \u201cthe heat wave itself was over.\u201d<\/p>\n Meteorologists at the local weather service office had a more limited approach to public messaging back then than they do now, Ratzer said: \u201cWe produce a forecast, and then we let the decision-makers do what they do with that information. We might issue a heat advisory or heat warning.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the threat wasn\u2019t visibly destructive like a tornado.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing journeying through, tearing down buildings,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like no warning would have prevented some of those things; the whole system needed to change. Which it did.\u201d<\/p>\n After the heat wave, the weather office started working much more closely with the city and including public health guidance in its forecasts.<\/p>\n \u201cThat kind of microcosm of change that occurred during the event, around messaging, is something that has very much taken hold \u2014 <\/b>not just in Chicago, but globally, particularly with the advent of human-caused climate change,\u201d Horton said. \u201cWe now know that extreme heat is the No. 1 killer, from an environmental health perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n Heat waves kill more people in the United States<\/a> than all of the other weather-related disasters combined, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/p>\n Thirty years ago, extreme heat was rare in Chicago. In the years since, however, area residents have grown increasingly familiar with stretches of similar, sometimes even higher, temperatures and humidity that rival conditions from the 1995 event.<\/p>\n The heat index \u2014 a combination of atmospheric temperatures and relative humidity that determines how the heat really feels to the body \u2014 peaked at 124 degrees on the second day of the 1995 heat wave, and remained over 105 the other days. On Aug. 23-24, 2023<\/a>, Chicago experienced its highest heat index since then, reaching 120 degrees. During another hot stretch<\/a> a year later, the peak index was the same.<\/p>\n Most recently, during a three-day heat wave beginning the weekend of June 21, the heat index peaked at over 100 degrees.<\/p>\n Ava Montenegro, 9, plays in a splash pad in Chicago\u2019s Humboldt Park, June 25, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Young people cool off in the spray of an open hydrant on the West Side of Chicago as the temperature reaches 100 degrees on June 26, 2025.(Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n An air conditioning unit works in a window of a cooling center at the Chase Park Fieldhouse, June 26, 2025, in Chicago. Though people were in the park’s swimming pool, nobody was using the cooling center. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The water sprinklers in St. Louis Park, 347 N. St. Louis Ave., Chicago, are turned on but unused as the temperature reaches 100 degrees on June 26, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Hundreds of people enjoy the summer heat at Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Faith, 8, and Fabian Stallworth, 11, splash around in Lake Michigan on June 22, 2025, at 63rd Street Beach. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Tony Clark keeps his dogs Demarco and Javier cool in the spray of a fountain while playing on June 22, 2025, in Garfield Park while the heat index soared above 100 degrees for the second straight day. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Javier Gonzalez cools off in a fountain before umpiring baseball games on June 22, 2025, in Humboldt Park. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Trey Shuey leaps into the water while hanging out at the pier near North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. Shuey, who lives in Ohio, was visiting friends in Chicago for the weekend. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A jet ski flies through the water in the Playpen, a popular area for boaters in the summertime, located between Oak Street Beach and Navy Pier, near Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n People eat and shop the vendor stalls on June 22, 2025, at the Logan Square Farmers\u2019 Market while the heat index soared above 100 degrees for the second straight day. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Someone sells ice cream at North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n People relax on the sand and wade into the Lake Michigan water on June 22, 2025, at 57th Street Beach. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Emerson DeCamp, 10, right, dives in the water at the pier near North Avenue Beach with family and friends on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Madison Peppa, left, and Eryk Fundakowski get splashed by their friend Stewart Turner after they jumped off the pier at Montrose Beach on June 21, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Angeline Jacquez, center, reacts as her mother, Minka Rios, holds the 2-year-old under a stream of water as families cool off at the McKinley Park pool on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n People relax on the sand and wade into the Lake Michigan water on June 22, 2025, at 57th Street Beach while the heat index soared above 100 degrees for the second straight day. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Vendor Lavar Jackson pulls a watermelon out of his truck for a customer on the corner of Fullerton and Western on June 21, 2025. Temperatures reached into the mid 90\u2019s on Saturday, June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Alex Zaliagiris jumps off the pier at Montrose Beach on June 21, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Boats pass by in the Playpen, a popular area for boaters in the summertime, located between Oak Street Beach and Navy Pier, near Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A crowd packs the McKinley Park pool on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side as temperatures reach into the mid 90\u2019s on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Masiah Stallworth, 4, cools off in Lake Michigan on June 22, 2025, at 63rd Street Beach. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Christa Ward gets an ice cream while enjoying the summer heat at North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Emerson DeCamp, 10, leaps in the water at the pier near North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Boats in the Playpen, a popular area for boaters in the summertime, located between Oak Street Beach and Navy Pier, near Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Jamitra Fulleord, left, fans herself to cool off while talking with Juan Carlos Lares, right, as the two wait with others for the McKinley Park pool to reopen after a scheduled 15 minute break on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n People walk around North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. Chicago has an Extreme Heat Warning for Cook County on Sunday and Monday. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Lifeguards push a boat into Lake Michigan on on June 22, 2025, at 63rd Street Beach. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n John Drexel, right, and his son, Aidan Drexel, 18, wait in the shade beside a mural of downtown Chicago and the lakefront located along Western Avenue on the Southwest side on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Tony Clark keeps his dog Demarco cool in the spray of a fountain while playing fetch on June 22, 2025, in Garfield Park. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Maggie McDonough, center, jumps off the pier at Montrose Beach on June 21, 2025. Chicago has an Extreme Heat Warning in effect through the weekend. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A lifeguard monitors the water at Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A young woman moves through the deep end while cooling off at the McKinley Park pool on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Boats in the Playpen, a popular area for boaters in the summertime, located between Oak Street Beach and Navy Pier, near Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Joseph Perez reacts as water pours over the 6-year-old as families cool off at the McKinley Park pool on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A lifeguard monitors the water near Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Stephanie Perez, 6, waits with her family for the McKinley Park pool on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side to open up after a scheduled 15 minute break as temperatures reach into the mid 90\u2019s on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Javier Gonzalez cools off in a fountain before umpiring baseball games on June 22, 2025, in Humboldt Park. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Diego Santos meditates by the pier at Montrose Beach on June 21, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Daniela Griffin rests in the grass after a bike ride near North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get some color,\u201d she said. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Bryce Burns leaps into the water at the pier near North Avenue Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n People relax on the sand and wade into the Lake Michigan water on June 22, 2025, at 63rd Street Beach while the heat index soared above 100 degrees for the second straight day. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Joe Kraft lays in a donut float after jumping off the pier at Montrose Beach on June 21, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Lifeguards work the kiddie pool at McKinley Park on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side as temperatures reach into the mid 90\u2019s on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A boy tucks his head as he dives in the McKinley Park pool on Chicago\u2019s Southwest side as temperatures reach into the mid 90\u2019s on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Hundreds of people enjoy the summer heat at Oak Street Beach on June 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Framed beyond the Webster Avenue bridge over the Chicago River, a bird soars as the sun sets after a day of temperatures in the mid 90\u2019s on June 21, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Lewis Moore, 9, left, jumps off the pier at Montrose Beach, alongside his sister, Cora Moore, 7, on June 21, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n People walk past a puddle at the Daley Center, formed by rain earlier in the day, on the first day of summer on June 20, 2025, in Chicago. Already warm temperatures are forecast to reach into the 90\u2019s this weekend and into next week. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Willis Tower is in the distance as two women laugh while strolling through Humboldt Park on June 19, 2025. Already warm temperatures are forecast to reach into the 90\u2019s this weekend and in to next week. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Co-workers Mayowa Obafemi, left, and Yemi Akindele say goodbye after work in the setting sun outside the Chicago Cultural Center on the first day of summer on June 20, 2025. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Judah Kruger, right, 4, looks on as his sister Amelia, 6, takes a swing at a ball while learning baseball with their father, Jordan Kruger, in Chicago\u2019s Humboldt Park on June 19, 2025. Temperatures are forecast to reach into the 90\u2019s this weekend and in to next week. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A child touches a storefront window while walking with her family on East Randolph Street on the first day of summer, June 20, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n River the dog sits in an oversized Chicago-themed chair in Humboldt Park as his owner, Andy Deleon, gives him a pet on the head on June 19, 2025. Temperatures are forecast to reach into the 90\u2019s this weekend and into next week. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 54<\/p>\n Ava Montenegro, 9, plays in a splash pad in Chicago\u2019s Humboldt Park, June 25, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n Expand<\/a><\/p>\n Heat can also be particularly dangerous if it lingers. People die from extreme heat, Horton said, not necessarily because of acute exposure in the middle of the day, but because humid heat persists through the night, limiting the body\u2019s ability to recover, rest and recuperate.<\/p>\n Summer nights<\/a> have become warmer under climate change. In Chicago, while overall summer average temperatures have warmed by 1.7 degrees<\/a> between 1970 and 2024, average overnight lows have increased by 2.5 degrees<\/a> in that same period.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s this long-term exposure to high heat and humidity, and no bodily breaks, that makes people really suffer and ultimately die because of it,\u201d Horton said.<\/p>\n The vulnerability index that Horton\u2019s team is developing aims to identify residents and communities who are particularly vulnerable to heat. It also seeks to help in the design of solutions to reduce residents\u2019 risk, and to inform the city\u2019s policy decisions and resource allocation to improve emergency response and preparedness.<\/p>\n To determine which Chicago residents are at the highest risk during heat waves, team members are studying factors that can worsen or alleviate someone\u2019s experience of extreme heat. For instance, underlying health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes or respiratory illness are linked to higher susceptibility to hotter weather. They are also asking: Who in the city has access to air conditioning? Can they afford to run it?\u00a0<\/p>\n Lack of uniform definition<\/p>\n In July 1995, officials ruled 485 deaths as heat-related.<\/p>\n But health experts and climate scientists say the number is over 700, because death certificates underestimate the real number of people killed by heat and hinder a proportionate response.<\/p>\n According to a study<\/a> of the Chicago event published in the American Journal of Public Health, \u201cthe heat wave appears to have contributed to 254 more deaths than were attributed by the Cook County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a problem throughout \u2014 I would say a global problem \u2014 that heat is not listed as a contributor,\u201d Horton said. \u201cIt is incredibly rare for heat to be listed as the cause of death.\u201d<\/p>\n In an August 1995 report<\/a>, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said \u201ca lack of a uniform definition for heat-related death across the U.S. results in substantial variation in the criteria used to certify such deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n During a typical year, the Illinois Department of Public Health confirms an average of 15 heat-related deaths across the state, according to Graham Briggs, division chief of emerging health issues at the agency.<\/p>\n \u201cThat varies a little bit year to year, but we think that that\u2019s a large underrepresentation,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of complexity, trying to understand how heat (drives) things like renal failure and cardiovascular disease and other stressors on the body.\u201d<\/p>\n Heat is considered the primary cause of death when there are no other reasonable explanations, and when a person\u2019s body temperature is 105 degrees or more when they die. However, if the temperature is not measured at or close to the time of death and the body has cooled down, it can be difficult to classify it as a heat death.<\/p>\n But heat is not often the sole or main reason people die; rather, it tends to be a contributing factor. Older people or those with cardiovascular disease are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, according to Ponni Arunkumar, the chief medical examiner for Cook County.<\/p>\n \u201cThe heat is just a stressor that pushes them over and causes them to die,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At the county\u2019s medical examiner\u2019s office, labeling a death as heat-related entails a thorough investigation of many factors, including the surroundings: Was the person who died in a place with no air conditioning? Were the windows closed?<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to know the circumstances,\u201d Arunkumar said.<\/p>\n Since 2015, when the county\u2019s medical examiner\u2019s office started keeping electronic records, 27 deaths<\/a> among Chicago residents have been marked as heat-related; three of them died in typically colder months because they were exposed to malfunctioning heating systems. Heat is listed as the primary cause of death in only five cases, including those of three women<\/a> who died at a Rogers Park senior living facility during a May 2022 heat wave because the heat had been kept on in the building and the air conditioning was broken.\u00a0<\/p>\n Records also show 15 people have died since 2015 of cardiovascular disease made worse by hot weather. Another four have died of complications from drug and alcohol use, which interfere with body temperature regulation, complicated by exposure to heat.<\/p>\n But even when heat aggravates preexisting health issues, those circumstances might get overlooked by different agencies, Briggs said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, he hopes that experts\u2019 understanding of how many people actually die from heat, whether directly or indirectly, is improving with technological advances and thorough data analysis.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year, we get a little bit better at the way that we report (heat) deaths,\u201d Briggs said.<\/p>\n Climate dependent<\/p>\n While some ComEd customers experienced interruptions in July 1995, there is no record of widespread system failure, according to Mark Baranek, senior vice president of technical services at the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n To relieve strain on the grid and reduce the possibility of greater outages, however, ComEd did implement some temporary outages, he said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n George Goss, an expert on grid stability and professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, moved to Champaign in 1993. He said he\u2019d be surprised if something similar happened today.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re in a different position than we were 30 years ago,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I would not deny that there\u2019s a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Nowadays, Gross said, electricity is very climate dependent.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only in terms of generation \u2014 because now we use solar and wind \u2014 but also because (of) that kind of heat,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd particularly if it\u2019s persistent, then it can cause all kinds of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n For instance, power lines can sag when the air around them isn\u2019t cool enough. And if they touch each other or a tree, they can short-circuit or start electrical fires.<\/p>\n During periods of extreme heat, the risk of outages can rise. For instance, the grid may become overwhelmed from a large swath of the population running the air conditioning at the same time, or severe weather can knock down electrical infrastructure.<\/p>\n Briggs, from the Illinois Department of Public Health, said if severe weather coincided with a heat wave, it could put people at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we did see loss of power in a large area over a sustained period of time \u2014 in a vulnerable population like assisted living centers \u2026 we could see a number of deaths,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully, we\u2019re better prepared if we do see a nightmare situation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chicago area is not unfamiliar with dangerous combinations of severe weather and heat. In June 2022<\/a>, a line of thunderstorms swept across the Midwest and part of the South, followed by a heat wave with indices over 100 degrees. Energy operators had to cut off electricity to customers \u2014 because supply couldn\u2019t meet the growing energy demand \u2014 for 21 hours as a measure to prevent larger-scale blackouts. In northern Illinois, storms left 125,000 ComEd customers without power<\/a> overnight.<\/p>\n According to climate science nonprofit Climate Central<\/a>, 80% of all major power outages \u2014 affecting at least 50,000 customers or interrupting 300 or more megawatts of service \u2014 in the United States reported between 2000 and 2023 occurred due to weather; more than half of those were caused by severe weather, which includes high winds, rain and thunderstorms.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over that same period of time, Illinois<\/a> experienced 77 major power outages, of which 69 were weather-related, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Between 2008 and 2017, most electric outages<\/a> in the state occurred in July, each affecting an average of 624,486 customers.<\/p>\n Driven by climate change, accumulating humidity in the region has increased the intensity of severe storms<\/a> and tornadoes<\/a>. These represent a particular threat to above-ground transmission wires, transformers and utility poles, which transmit and distribute most electricity but are thus exposed and vulnerable to the elements. Where power lines are buried, flooding can also cause issues.<\/p>\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-heat-death-1995.jpg\")
The mass burial of 68 unclaimed bodies, 41 from the heat wave that hit the area early in the summer on Aug. 25, 1995, in Homewood. (John Smierciak\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
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\n![\"Lifeguards](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave-15_230672346.jpg\")
\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave003_230644806.jpg\")
\n![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave-02_230672240.jpg\")
\n![\"Maggie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave002_230633788.jpg\")
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave029_230674050.jpg\")
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave002_230644794.jpg\")
\n![\"Boats](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave026_230674762.jpg\")
\n![\"Joseph](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave007_230642268.jpg\")
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave023_230674036.jpg\")
\n![\"Stephanie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave004_230644808.jpg\")
\n![\"Javier](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave-06_230672292.jpg\")
\n![\"Diego](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave_230640418.jpg\")
\n![\"Daniela](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave003_230674702.jpg\")
\n![\"Bryce](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave011_230673972.jpg\")
\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave-21_230672426.jpg\")
\n![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave007_230633840.jpg\")
\n![\"Lifeguards](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave008_230644816.jpg\")
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave010_230641916.jpg\")
\n![\"Hundreds](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave025_230674736.jpg\")
\n![\"Framed](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-heat-wave013_230644812.jpg\")
\n![\"Lewis](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-Chicago-heat-wave004_230633834.jpg\")
\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-weather-picture-062025-04_230605860-e1750459300631.jpg\")
\n![\"Willis](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-weather-feature001_230572682_0ad865.jpg\")
\n![\"Co-workers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-weather-picture-062025-08_230606398-e1750465062888.jpg\")
\n![\"Judah](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-weather-feature002_230572684_fe94c6.jpg\")
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-weather-picture-062025-06_230606348.jpg\")
\n![\"River](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CTC-L-weather-feature005_230572694.jpg\")
\n![\"Desmond](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-heat-ac-bills-20_199992804.jpg\")
Desmond Quinn hoists an air conditioner to a window ledge at a residence in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on July 11, 2024. Quinn and Sam Diamonte, of the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance program called People’s Cooling Army, lend, deliver and install window air conditioners for tenants without adequate cooling in their apartments. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-heat-death-2022.jpg\")
The James Sneider Apartments at 7450 N. Rogers Ave. in Rogers Park on May 16, 2022, where three seniors were discovered dead Saturday after residents reported high temperatures. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-staff-heat-wave-1995.jpg\")
The scene in the parking lot of the Cook County Institute of Forensic Medicine as police wagons arrive to drop off the bodies of those who had died in the heat wave on July 17, 1995. The bodies were kept in refrigerated trucks until they could be processed in the morgue. (Jose More\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-power-line-skyline.jpg\")
Power lines along Halsted Street near Chicago Avenue, seen in front of the Chicago skyline on June 28, 2023. (Antonio Perez\/ Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/ctc-l-heat-wave-1995-officer.jpg\")
Chicago police Officer Charles Henson of the Englewood District is shaken on July 17, 1995, after removing a heat victim’s body from an apartment where two people died. (Phil Greer\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n