‘The warming centers must be opened 24/7 for unhoused. . . At –30 degrees windchill, both frostbite and hypothermia can occur in 10 minutes and death follows within 1 hour. . .’
The People’s Response Network (PRN) calls for Mayor Brandon Johnson to remove all coordination and powers from the Chicago Office of Emergency Management & Communication (OEMC) for Climate Change Disasters management, including the current five-day deadly cold wave. The Health, Housing, and Immigrant Crises to the Chicago Departments of Health, Human Services, Environment and Fire Department coordinated all emergency responses before the creation of OEMC. In 1995, OEMC was created by Mayor Richard M. Daley in response to 793 documented deaths from heat.
OEMC mismanagement
- Mishandled the 2019 Polar Vortex Response when it refused to open the city’s 6 warming centers 24/7
- Mishandled the 2023 Heat Wave response when it only extended cooling center hours until 7 pm instead of 24/7
- Bungled every aspect of the present two-year, 30,000 immigrant crises
- Refused to open the city’s six warming centers 24/7. It eventually opened the Harold Washington Library downtown to accommodate 2.8 million residents and migrants.
The Current Situation
Dozens of unhoused, disoriented, disabled and residents will die. Hundreds will get frostbite and/or hypothermia by Wednesday afternoon. While some may want to go to Department of Family Support Services (DFSS) funded shelters, others will not, preferring warming centers. Some staff working in the warming centers need to treat people with dignity and humanity. They must not harass or remove folks who fall asleep.
The warming centers must be opened 24/7 under the jurisdiction of Chicago Department of Public Health working with DFSS. At -30 degrees windchill, both frostbite and hypothermia can occur in 10 minutes and death follows within 1 hour. If any person is exposed to snow or ice and any part of their body becomes wet, both hypothermia and frostbite can happen much faster than 10 minutes and death sooner than 1 hour.
Kathy Powers is a lifetime Chicagoan. At 50, Kathy speaks out as the voice of the people. She became a revolutionary activist whose lifelong fight raises unheard voices. She is the Health Care Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board.
