# 1995 Heat Wave Commemoration and Defusing Disasters Project Showcase 7.15.25

- Date: July 16, 2025
- Type: Video
- Length: 17:27
- Topic: Other
- Video: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNImazQyVdg)
- Transcript: Machine transcription, 1,577 words ([text](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/youtube/LNImazQyVdg.txt))
- Mayor: [Brandon Johnson](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor)

## Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the 1995 Heat Wave Commemoration and Defusing Disasters Project Showcase.

## Transcript

[4:32](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=272) Good evening, everyone. Good evening. My name is Angela Tovar, and I have the honor to serve as the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago. Thank you, Mr. Pastor. Thank you. And the Commissioner of the Newly Restored Department of Environment. Thank you for joining us here tonight at the refectory as we gather to remember one of the most painful and pivotal chapters in the city's history, the 1995 Chicago heat wave.

[5:05](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=305) This week, 30 years ago, over 700 of our fellow Chicagoans lost their lives in a disaster that was not just about extreme weather, it was about systemic neglect. It was a tragedy that revealed just how deadly the intersections of heat, housing insecurity, racial inequity, and social isolation can be. Tonight, we honor those lives, Chicagoans who should never be forgotten and who must never be reduced to statistics.

[5:41](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=341) They were our neighbors, our family members, and members of our communities. As we reflect on their loss, we also gather here with a shared sense of responsibility to ensure that what happened in 1995 never happens again. Thank you, Pastor. That commitment demands that we learn, adapt, and act with equity and justice

[6:11](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=371) at the center of everything that we do, particularly as climate change continues to threaten our everyday lives. following remarks this evening we will be screening an excerpt of the film cooked survival by zip code which powerfully explores the hidden hit story of the heat wave and how vulnerability is shaped not just by weather but by decades of structural inequity after the screening we'll hear from the team behind abusing disasters a group that is co-led by community

[6:44](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=404) leaders, a group of researchers led by Northwestern's Buffett Institute of Global Affairs, and the City of Chicago. The collective research and preliminary findings from this group push us toward solutions and a future where we in Chicago are equipped not just to manage or to survive disasters, but to thrive in the face of climate, economic, and public health challenges. So we have a full agenda ahead of us tonight, and to help us get started,

[7:16](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=436) it is my privilege to introduce a leader who truly understands the challenges that we face because he lives them too and is leading with that knowledge. He has been a force in our city's efforts to build resilience and to advance equity, ensuring that the hard lessons of 1995 are not forgotten, but used to shape a stronger, more just future for Chicago. Please join me in welcoming the Mayor of Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson.

[7:58](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=478) Thank you, Commissioner and Chief of Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar, for your leadership. And good evening, everyone. Grateful that all of you have decided to spend your evening on the west side of Chicago. I do want to take just a brief moment as we reflect and commemorate this tragedy,

[8:28](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=508) but how we come together as a city to respond to tragedy collectively. I do think it's appropriate that we have just a brief moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives and how their lives were cut short during the 1995 heat wave. Let's also, when we have this moment of silence, let it be a moment where we reflect to renew our commitment to justice and community. Let's take a moment. Thank you.

[9:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=549) I want to thank the Chicago Department of Environment, the Department of Public Health, the Chicago Park District. We have our General Superintendent here, Carlos Ramirez Rosa. Thank you for being here, sir. Can you wave? Please give him a round of applause. The Northwestern University's Buffett Institute, we have the Metropolitan Planning Council here today, and, of course, all of our diffusing disasters community partners who organized this event.

[9:43](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=583) Thirty years ago, Chicago experienced one of the most devastating climate-related tragedies in our nation's history. Today, we gather to remember and honor the more than 700 Chicagoans whose lives were lost during this tragic event. Many of those lives that were lost were black and elderly, low-income residents living in communities that have been ignored and under-resourced.

[10:13](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=613) They were often living in isolation, without access to cooling or care or other community safety net opportunities that they really deserve. The pain from this tragedy is still felt today, especially here on the west side and throughout many neighborhoods and communities on the south side. I do want to take a moment, though, to highlight a story of one of the many individuals that we are honoring today. And that is Emilio Aguirre, who was a United States military veteran, a Bronze Star recipient, and a POW and a Chicagoan.

[10:55](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=655) Fifty years after serving this country during World War II, he succumbed to heat illness during the 1995 heat wave. For nearly 30 years, he rested in an unmarked grave without a headstone, without a ceremony, and without the honors that he deserved. Emilio was a man whose story reminds us of both the quiet dignity of service and the deep responsibility that we all share to never let such lives go unrecognized.

[11:27](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=687) It was not until his story was brought to light by the research of sociologist Eric Kleidenberg, the documentary Cooked, and the efforts of veterans led by Charles Henderson with the American Legion, Harold Washington Post, that we began to fully understand the injustice of that silence. And later this week, members of Chicago's veterans community and the city of Chicago will come together to honor the life and service of Emilio with a full military memorial ceremony.

[12:06](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=726) The Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs has led the effort to ensure that Emilio receives the long-overdue recognition that he earned, including the installation of a military headstone that reflects his service and honors. And we are always working to ensure that there are no more stories that end like Emilio.

[12:37](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=757) Today, heat-related illness remains the leading cause of weather-related mortality in the United States. And only 30% of single-family homes in Chicago have central air, compared with 76% of homes nationwide. During the 1995 heat wave, it became abundantly clear that environmental crises are never just about the weather. In fact, they are more about equity and access and justice.

[13:09](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=789) And that is why my administration is investing in climate action that focuses on the people and neighborhoods that are most at risk. And one important way that we are taking action is through the expansion of our tree canopy. On our south and west sides, many neighborhoods lack tree cover, with some neighborhoods having less than 5 percent canopy. This leaves these neighborhoods more vulnerable to flooding and extreme heat, which can cause heat-related illness.

[13:44](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=824) Here in Austin, we are investing in our communities by planting trees that will turn the tide for justice. It would also provide long-term climate and health benefits. And through the Our Roots Chicago program, our city has been working to make neighborhoods healthier and more resilient by planting 75,000 new trees with a focus on communities that need them the most. And through a community-driven, data-informed, and collaborative full-government approach,

[14:15](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=855) we have planted about 64,000 trees thus far. And of course, we are here tonight to talk about the Diffusing Disasters Project. This project is special because it is a true example of what I like to call co-governance in action. It was created through a collaboration between public health experts, climate scientists, city departments, and the communities most vulnerable to extreme heat.

[14:49](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=889) And through this partnership, we are creating tools and policies that accurately reflect the needs of our communities. And one example of this is the Heat Vulnerability Index, a resource that has been in development as part of the commitment that has been laid out in the Chicago Climate Action Plan. And this HVI is more than a data tool. It allows us to see the differences throughout the city and visualize where disparities exist, and with those insights, we can take action.

[15:20](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=920) It also improves us to educate and engage communities in conversations as we create the tools and shape the policies we need to ultimately protect communities from the growing threat of extreme heat. And defusing disasters goes one step further by pairing the HBI with policy recommendations that have been developed by communities with the intention to transform systems and build climate justice. At a time when the federal government is dismantling not only environmental protections but also federal disaster relief funding, this is the type of work that is needed.

[15:54](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=954) This project is a model of how community, academia, and city government can work together to make sure no one in our city falls through the cracks and ensure that everyone is protected. It is this collaboration that will ensure that the resilience and the healthier and the safer city that we all desire can really manifest. And in closing, I'm grateful that all of our city departments are coming together. I'm especially grateful to our Park District for hosting us tonight, but I'm also grateful that we have our Executive Director of OEMC.

[16:29](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg?t=989) This was the entity that was developed as a result of the 1995 heat wave. Mr. Frank Velez is here. Thank you for it. So let us continue the great work to protect our people and our communities. Thank you all. And with that, I will turn the program back over to Chief Sustainability Officer Commissioner Angela Tovar.

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/mayor/videos/LNImazQyVdg · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt