Proposed changes to cooling requirements in buildings are set to appear before City Council Wednesday for approval after the council’s Zoning Committee passed the new language Tuesday.
Ald. Maria Hadden proposed the new rules after three women were found dead in their apartments in a senior housing facility in Rogers Park in May during a week of record-breaking heat. Several residents of the building, located in Hadden’s 49th Ward, complained to management about the units being too hot.
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Hadden also introduced changes to the city’s rules on heating, but the section of the new ordinance addressing heating systems was tabled by the committee Tuesday so it can be worked on further before the colder months roll in.
If passed by the council Wednesday, the revised cooling requirements would go into effect 10 days later.
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A statement from Hadden’s office Tuesday afternoon said Hadden is “pleased to see the City take swift action by passing these changes to our cooling amendment. The expansions to the cooling requirements will help keep our most vulnerable residents safe as we continue to see the impacts of climate change. We know that there is still work to be done on changes to the heating ordinance, and we look forward to working with our colleagues to prioritize these changes.”
The revisions include requiring permanent air conditioning in all new construction of senior facilities and larger residential buildings and it must be operated on days when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees. Also, senior homes would have to follow the cooling requirements already in place for nursing homes, and would have to install cooling and dehumidification equipment in common areas that can operate independent of a heating system.
Residents of the James Sneider Apartments, where the three women died, have said they were by building managers that that they mistakenly believed city ordinance required them to keep the heat on in the building until June 1. The ordinance, now set to be amended, had a daytime temperature requirement of at least 68 degrees from Sept. 15 to June 1 but has no requirement that the heat has to stay on if temperatures naturally exceed that threshold.
The family of one of the women who died in the apartment building, Janice Reed, is suing the owners and managers for wrongful death. Reed was 68. Temperature readings done in Reed’s unit after she was found unresponsive were around 102 and 103 degrees, attorney Larry Rogers Jr., who is representing the Reed’s family in their lawsuit, said earlier.
Ald. Michael Rodriguez of the 22nd Ward, said during the committee hearing the loss of “fellow Chicagoans recently, some of our seniors is very tragic” and said it was important for the committee to make a decision on the revised ordinance Tuesday so it could be approved Wednesday by the council.
“It’s very rare when we as City Council persons actually have an opportunity to do something immediately on a challenge that’s facing our residents and do something immediately that actually saves people’s lives,” he said. “I think we need to move forward now, and I will not stand for letting our residents down.”
