This week marks the 30th anniversary of one of the deadliest weather events in Chicago’s history, as a heat wave in July 1995 claimed the lives of 739 individuals in the area.
In the years following this tragedy, officials have reflected on the lessons learned, while personal accounts from those who experienced it firsthand continue to resonate.
Dino Pillizzi, a CBS News Chicago photojournalist who covered the event in real time, recalled the chilling atmosphere during those scorching days.
“I recalled it right away,” Pillizzi said, acknowledging the passage of three decades since the incident.
Initially, his assignment was to capture people enjoying the warm weather at North Avenue Beach, unaware of the impending crisis.
“My assignment was to go to the beach at North Avenue and get, you know, people enjoying the warm weather,” he mentioned, reminiscing about families and children at play.
However, the mood quickly shifted as he was soon directed to the morgue, bringing him face-to-face with the grim toll of the heat wave.
Pillizzi vividly described the oppressive conditions during the heat wave.
“It was hot and sticky, and the air was stagnant. It was hard to breathe,” he recalled.
As the severe heat continued, the situation worsened, particularly in Chicago’s public housing projects, such as the State Street Corridor on the South Side.
“They didn’t have resources to keep themselves cool. They didn’t have resources to manage the heat,” Pillizzi noted, emphasizing that many high-rise buildings lacked air conditioning.
As fatalities continued to rise, the morgue became overwhelmed with the number of deceased individuals.
“The morgue couldn’t handle the amount of people, and so they brought in refrigerator trucks that were very prominent at the Taste of Chicago weeks before — the refrigerator trucks,” he explained.
This tragedy was starkly highlighted by the scenes of body bags being wheeled towards the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
“Nowadays, we don’t show any of that. We don’t show body bags,” Pillizzi commented, reflecting on how media coverage has evolved.
Pillizzi described the emotional weight of his role during such a devastating event.
“You kind of feel that guilt. Not survivor’s guilt, but just guilt that there’s so many people suffering, and then I have to go intrude on their suffering to get video of them suffering. It wears on you,” he expressed.
The aftermath of the heat wave was a somber reminder that many of the lives lost could have potentially been spared.
On Tuesday, city leaders in Chicago commemorated the victims of the 1995 heat wave, discussing measures to prevent a similar disaster in the future.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson participated in the commemoration, acknowledging the tragedy’s complex social implications.
Angela Tovar, Chicago’s chief sustainability officer and Department of Environment Commissioner, highlighted how the heatwave illustrated the intersection of heat, housing insecurity, racial inequity, and social isolation.
The special event took place at the Columbus Park Refectory on the West Side of the city and featured a screening of “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code,” a documentary exploring the heat wave.
Following the screening, a panel discussion dissected the lasting impacts of the heat wave, focusing on Chicago’s proactive measures to mitigate the risks associated with extreme heat.
image source from：cbsnews
