By Marilyn Ferdinand
In the summer of 1995, 739 Chicagoans died of heat-related causes. If you remember the heat wave at all, you probably have only a dim recollection of the scale of the tragedy. Why is that? Well, most of the dead were poor, elderly, and African American. Most lived in fractured communities where neighborliness gave way long ago to fear and isolation as crime rates soared and city and community services dwindled. Most media outlets covered the tragedy using the press releases issued by the office of Mayor Richard M. Daley, a practice still in full swing today, only belatedly trying to cover the facts well after the death toll made this event the single worst heat-related disaster in U.S. history. And finally, to this day, the Chicago City Council has never held hearings to investigate the causes of this gigantic stain on the city’s municipal effectiveness and civic mindedness.
Posted on February 29, 2008
