Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth Urges Mayor to Address Gaps in Extreme Weather Plan

PRESS RELEASESCITY COUNCIL
Written By Nicole Granacki

On September 23, Ald. Manaa-Hoppenworth was one of 39 City Council members who sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto calling for immediate action to address significant gaps in the City’s Extreme Weather Response Plan. The letter urges the Mayor’s office to establish a working group to improve safety resources for unhoused neighbors in extreme weather conditions. Read the full letter including all its signees below.

September 23rd, 2024

Mayor Brandon Johnson
Office of the Mayor
121 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago IL
CC: Chief Homelessness Officer Soto
Re : Extreme Weather Response Plan

To ensure unhoused Chicagoans can access safe shelter during extreme weather events, we, the undersigned, call on Mayor Johnson and Chief Homelessness Officer Soto, in collaboration with City Council, to organize a working group to improve Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan.

Every year, due to dangerous (yet predictable) extreme weather events, unhoused Chicagoans disproportionately experience high rates of heat- and cold-related injury and death. Every winter, 20 to 60 unhoused Chicagoans freeze to death. Horrifically, last December, a man died, neglected and exposed to the winter cold, on the steps of a closed warming center. Unhoused Chicagoans are 1200x more likely than housed Chicagoans to develop frostbite, and are also more likely to receive frostbite-related amputations. Extreme heat is similarly deadly, as evidenced by the 1995 heat wave’s death toll of over 700 Chicagoans.

Unless Chicago invests in its systems of care, these rates of heat and cold-related injury and death will only worsen as climate change continues to accelerate the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Ensuring the safety of vulnerable groups during extreme weather demands significant planning, resources, and coordination. However, over this past year, we have witnessed many shortcomings of Chicago’s current Extreme Weather Response Plan — including cooling centers remaining closed amidst sweltering heat; advertised cooling centers lacking air conditioning; and warming centers activating at the eleventh hour, preventing proper coordination with the broader homeless service community. Furthermore, although unhoused Chicagoans are at highest risk of cold and heat-related injury and death overnight, Chicago does not operate any overnight warming or cooling centers. Since traditional shelters are often at capacity, many unhoused Chicagoans seeking refuge from extreme weather are left outdoors in dangerous conditions.

The shortcomings of Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan are not new or unique to the current administration, and we recognize and appreciate the Johnson Administration’s recent focus on improving Chicago’s extreme weather communications. However, with the winter imminent and a threefold increase in the number of unhoused Chicagoans, the City Council and the Johnson Administration must work together with urgency to improve Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan and prevent further tragedy. We call on Mayor Johnson and Chief Soto to promptly organize an extreme weather working group, to convene as soon as possible, but no later than November 1, with the following composition and goals:

I. Working Group Composition

The working group should include:

  • Representatives from the following Chicago Departments and Offices, including:

    • Office of the Mayor

    • Office of Budget and Management (OBM)

    • Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC)

    • Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS)

    • Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH)

    • the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) and/or Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)

    • Department of Technology and Innovation (DTI);

  • Members of Chicago City Council;

  • Representatives from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and/or the Illinois State
    Legislature;

  • Homeless outreach and shelter service providers, including:

    • DFSS-funded homeless outreach and shelter providers,

    • Homeless outreach and shelter providers operating in Chicago without DFSS funding;

    • hospital / emergency room liaisons;

  • persons with lived experience;

  • an independent public health professional;

  • a disability access advocate;

  • if possible, a non-city funder or foundation.

II. Working Group Outcomes

The working group should work toward the following outcomes:

  • develop and implement a method to measure real-time shelter, warming center, and cooling

  • center supply and demand;

  • reassess current activation criteria for all warming/cooling resources;

  • determine the cost and benefit of each existing warming/cooling resource and activation;

  • identify potential avenues for Extreme Weather Response Plan expansion :

    • determine the ideal geographic distribution of low-barrier warming/cooling access informed by the current geographic distribution of the unsheltered population,

    • map future feasible warming/cooling centers with pro / con assessments related to their capacity and usability;

  • assess the reach and timeliness of current warming/cooling center activation communication to unhoused Chicagoans and homeless service providers, and develop an improved communications plan;

  • create a year-round schedule of extreme weather response planning / engagement activities with homeless service providers (both delegate agencies and non-delegate agencies), to coordinate resources, ensure consistent communication, and regularly solicit feedback.

We sincerely look forward to working together to improve Chicago’s Extreme Weather Response Plan, and to ensuring all Chicagoans can access safety during extreme heat and extreme cold.

Sincerely,

  • Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th Ward

  • Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st Ward

  • Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd Ward

  • Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward

  • Ald. Desmon Yancy, 5th Ward

  • Ald. William E. Hall, 6th Ward

  • Ald. Peter Chico, 10th Ward

  • Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th Ward

  • Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th Ward

  • Ald. Marty Quinn, 13th Ward

  • Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez, 14th Ward

  • Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th Ward

  • Ald. Stephanie Lopez, 16th Ward

  • Ald. David Moore, 17th Ward

  • Ald. Derrick Curtis, 18th Ward

  • Ald. Matthew O’Shea, 19th Ward

  • Ald. Ronnie Mosley, 21st Ward

  • Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd Ward

  • Ald. Monique Scott, 24th Ward

  • Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez, 25th Ward

  • Ald. Jessie Fuentes, 26th Ward

  • Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th Ward

  • Ald. Ruth Cruz, 30th Ward

  • Ald. Felix Cardona, Jr., 31st Ward

  • Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd Ward

  • Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd Ward

  • Ald. Bill Conway, 34th Ward

  • Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th Ward

  • Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 38th Ward

  • Ald. Samantha Nugent, 39th Ward

  • Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st Ward

  • Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward

  • Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd Ward

  • Ald. Bennett Lawson, 44th Ward

  • Ald. James Gardiner, 45th Ward

  • Ald. Angela Clay, 46th Ward

  • Ald. Matt Martin, 47th Ward

  • Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, 48th Ward

  • Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th Ward

  • Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th Ward

Nicole Granacki
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