When peeled away from the shocking headlines the story reveals the less newsworthy but long-term crisis of pernicious poverty, economic, and social isolation and racism. All rights reserved. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. www.kartemquin.com, Ford Foundation | JustFilmsThe Center for Independent Documentary, Independent Television Service (ITVS) Leo S. Guthman FundJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The Fledgling FundSundance Institute Documentary Film Program with support fromOpen Society FoundationsJustFilms | Ford Foundation Rockefeller FoundationThe Marisla FoundationThe Putnam FoundationThe Dobkin Family FoundationPark Foundation, Inc.The Dorot FoundationLisa K. Chanoff & Matthew I. Chan/Rose GoldBertha FoundationFork Films, LLCThe Todd and Betiana Simon FoundationRobert Wood Johnson FoundationThe Russell Family FoundationSarah & Timothy CavanaughBeth B. SacklerThe Ettinger FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundations Media Arts Fellowshipand many generous others, For media requests and inquiries, please contact:2050 Group: 212-642-4317 (O) 202-422-4673 Adam Segal, adam@the2050group.comKartemquin Films: 773-472-4366Tim Horsburgh, tim@kartemquin.com. The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Office and the Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health are excited to co-host a virtual discussion on the documentary Cooked: Survival by Zip Code, by Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand, on Monday, November 16 at Noon. With director Steve James, David co-editedLife Itself, about Roger Ebert, which screened at Cannes and Sundance, and won anEmmy for Outstanding Editing. Leichter directed/producedA Days Work, A Days Pay, in association with ITVS, which follows three welfare recipients in New York City, and designed/directed the films 5-year audience engagement campaign. Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, Author, Introducing Just Sustainabilities: Policy, Planning, and Practice'Cooked is a jolting reminder of the tragedy, and a scathing indictment of the social conditions that allowed so many to die - with the overwhelming majority of victims being minorities, the elderly, the poorFor those who don't know the story: You need to see this movie.' A human emergency plan. Edited by Bill Bigelow and Tim Swinehart. In addition to producing COOKED: Survival by Zip Code, Doremus co-produced the Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning, ABACUS: Small Enough to Jail for PBS Frontline series. Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents mostly elderly and black died over the course of one week. His scholarly work has been published in journals including the American Sociological Review, Theory and Society, and Ethnography, and he has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and This American Life. Editor, Simeon Hutner, David E. Simpson; original music by T. Griffin; cinematography, Tod Lending, Stanley J. Staniski, Keith Walker. All told, David has edited some fifteen projects with Kartemquin Films (see partial list below). Watch the discussion here. The first woman to paint the official portrait of a U.S. president, Greta Kempton also painted Cabinet officials, governors, senators, the head of the Atomic Energy Commission, two Postmasters General, a Supreme Court justice, several university presidents, and a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Three of those premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with national broadcasts on PBS (POV), HBO and The Sundance Channel. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. So the question is, a Chicago official asks, did people die of the heat, or did they die of the social conditions in these neighborhoods, and the answer is both. Helfand examines and mocks the futility of task force reports, emergency plans, disaster preparedness, rehearsals for tornadoes and other calamities, when these ignore the racism and poverty that cause people to suffer so unequally. Victims get prosthetic wounds and fake blood, and cars are crushed by a backhoe for atmosphere. In COOKED: Survival By Zip Code, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand uses her signature serious-yet-quirky connect-the-dots style to take audiences from the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave -- in which 739 mostly black, elderly, and poor Chicagoans died during the course of one week-- deep into one of our nations biggest growth industries: disaster preparedness. "Cooked: Survival by Zip Code now available on iTunes, Amazon, and GooglePlay! April 13: The University of North Carolina, in partnership with Working Films, presents a virtual screening and panel discussion with Judith Helfand and other special guests. Allright, well just let us know8800:04:07,776 --> 00:04:09,318if you need anything.Yeah, and Deloris8900:04:09,336 --> 00:04:12,297is not home,and Pat's not home either,9000:04:12,310 --> 00:04:13,436she's in the hospital.9100:04:13,460 --> 00:04:14,294[Man] Yeah, I know.9200:04:14,318 --> 00:04:15,361[Judith's Mom] Yeah, OK.9300:04:15,385 --> 00:04:17,591[Announcer] It is veryscary, the water is rushing.9400:04:18,448 --> 00:04:20,457It's your turn, go, go, go, go.9500:04:20,458 --> 00:04:21,917[Announcer] We heardfrom her earlier,9600:04:21,932 --> 00:04:24,193she was stuck in HighlandPark, New York, trying to get9700:04:24,217 --> 00:04:27,269[Judith] Safe, cosy,and with very bad letters,9800:04:27,270 --> 00:04:30,533I had plenty of time to thinkabout disaster preparedness.9900:04:32,490 --> 00:04:34,473My mother had herclose-knit hallway.10000:04:35,410 --> 00:04:37,873My brother and his familyhad their generator.10100:04:39,700 --> 00:04:42,032And I had them.10200:04:42,033 --> 00:04:44,616(gentle music)10300:04:46,280 --> 00:04:49,616I was very aware ofhow fortunate I was.10400:04:49,617 --> 00:04:52,059And I was equally awareof how many people10500:04:52,060 --> 00:04:54,053in my own city, were not.10600:04:59,310 --> 00:05:00,839But I didn't alwayslook at disaster10700:05:00,840 --> 00:05:02,749through the lens of privilege.10800:05:02,750 --> 00:05:06,592That all started with abook I read about a disaster10900:05:06,593 --> 00:05:10,959that took place inChicago in July, 1995.11000:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,293One of the deadliest heatwavesin U.S. history, so far.11100:05:17,020 --> 00:05:19,239I can't say whatshocked me more,11200:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,909the fact that hundreds ofpeople died from the heat11300:05:21,910 --> 00:05:26,910in a major U.S. city,or that I had no memory of it.11400:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,069This was a tragedy thatshould've seared itself11500:05:32,070 --> 00:05:34,723into the mind and memoryof every American.11600:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,697But it didn't, and that'swhat shocked me most of all.11700:05:46,220 --> 00:05:49,397So I tracked down EricKlinenberg, the native Chicagoan11800:05:49,398 --> 00:05:51,879who wrote the bookabout the heatwave.11900:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,949When I met him,he was about to brief12000:05:53,950 --> 00:05:57,093a congressional subcommitteein Washington, D.C.12100:05:58,710 --> 00:06:02,649Heatwaves kill moreAmericans than all of the other12200:06:02,650 --> 00:06:06,099so-called naturaldisasters combined.12300:06:06,100 --> 00:06:09,639Disasters are important notjust because they represent12400:06:09,640 --> 00:06:14,646extreme cases, but also becausein looking at them closely,12500:06:14,670 --> 00:06:19,219we learn to recognise conditionsthat are always present,12600:06:19,220 --> 00:06:20,633but difficult to perceive.12700:06:21,568 --> 00:06:23,739And I wanna suggestthere's a kind of disaster12800:06:23,740 --> 00:06:25,979in slow motion taking place12900:06:25,980 --> 00:06:28,623in American communitieseverywhere today.13000:06:31,061 --> 00:06:32,395[Judith] Thatwas what was unique13100:06:32,396 --> 00:06:34,554about the heatwave in Chicago.13200:06:34,555 --> 00:06:38,879It was a natural disasterthat revealed an unnatural one13300:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,579in a way that I'dnever really seen.13400:06:41,580 --> 00:06:43,713Mainly because I didn't have to.13500:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,589So I went to Chicago and drovefrom the iconic lakefront13600:06:51,590 --> 00:06:54,229to the south and westsides of the city,13700:06:54,230 --> 00:06:56,849to the neighborhoods that hadsuffered the most heat deaths13800:06:56,850 --> 00:06:58,512in 1995.13900:06:58,513 --> 00:07:01,096(gentle music)14000:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,389It was obvious, somethingdevastating had happened here,14100:07:07,390 --> 00:07:10,390but I was pretty sure it hadnothing to do with the weather.14200:07:13,980 --> 00:07:16,253This disaster was man-made.14300:07:20,730 --> 00:07:22,999And that's about whenI started to question14400:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,827our very definition of disaster.14500:07:26,828 --> 00:07:29,995(slow, serious music)14600:07:41,020 --> 00:07:44,629[Announcer] The sun is cookingthe center of the country.14700:07:44,630 --> 00:07:47,012All week,roads have been buckling,14800:07:47,036 --> 00:07:48,649people have been baking,14900:07:48,650 --> 00:07:51,709and the mercury isshowing no mercy.15000:07:51,710 --> 00:07:54,793(slow, somber music)15100:08:02,346 --> 00:08:04,359(kids chattering)15200:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,339[Judith] When Istarted making this film,15300:08:06,340 --> 00:08:09,419Eric Klinenberg handedme a worn VHS tape15400:08:09,420 --> 00:08:12,263filled with news footageof the 1995 heatwave.15500:08:13,210 --> 00:08:16,453And I watched it over and over.15600:08:17,298 --> 00:08:19,399(high-pitched whirring)15700:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,109[Announcer] Businessis brisk for stores15800:08:21,110 --> 00:08:22,579selling fans andair conditioners.15900:08:22,580 --> 00:08:24,679Many customers are tryingto bring them home tonight16000:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,239to get them going in timefor tomorrow's expected16100:08:27,240 --> 00:08:28,449triple digit temperatures.16200:08:29,208 --> 00:08:31,791{\an8}(somber music)16300:08:32,766 --> 00:08:34,160{\an8}[Announcer] The sun sets tonight16400:08:34,184 --> 00:08:36,562{\an8}on one of the hottestdays in Chicago history,16500:08:36,586 --> 00:08:40,565{\an8}an official high of 104degrees at O'Hara Airport.16600:08:40,590 --> 00:08:42,209{\an8}It's hot, it's hot out there.16700:08:42,210 --> 00:08:45,832{\an8}We all walk out there,it's very, very, very hot.16800:08:46,150 --> 00:08:47,999We go to extremes in Chicago,16900:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,852and that's why people loveChicago, we go to extremes.17000:08:50,853 --> 00:08:53,603(sirens blaring)17100:08:55,250 --> 00:08:57,429[Judith] The mayor's cleverplay on the word extremes17200:08:57,430 --> 00:08:59,729took on a newmeaning the next day17300:08:59,730 --> 00:09:02,699when all of a suddenhospitals were overflowing17400:09:02,700 --> 00:09:05,803with patients sufferingfrom heat-related illnesses.17500:09:09,610 --> 00:09:11,160And then people started to die.17600:09:15,117 --> 00:09:19,439{\an8}It was a very hot night andwhen I called my grandmother17700:09:19,440 --> 00:09:20,933{\an8}she didn't answer the phone.17800:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,453{\an8}I thought that was strangebecause she was always there.17900:09:27,336 --> 00:09:29,645{\an8}So I rushed right over here.18000:09:29,670 --> 00:09:31,809{\an8}The door was openbecause the paramedics18100:09:31,810 --> 00:09:32,899{\an8}had already been in there.18200:09:32,900 --> 00:09:35,493{\an8}And I walked in,and I walked into the room,18300:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,235and I saw my grandmotherlying across the bed, face up.18400:09:41,236 --> 00:09:44,319(slow, somber music)18500:09:47,420 --> 00:09:48,929When they wereexamining her body18600:09:48,930 --> 00:09:51,459I looked over at the windowand it was nailed shut,18700:09:51,460 --> 00:09:54,976and I thought, "What wouldmake her think that by18800:09:54,977 --> 00:09:57,516putting a nail in a windowwould make her feel safe?18900:09:57,517 --> 00:09:59,407Why wasn't this window open? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. . The organization's films have received four Academy Award nominations and won several major prizes, including six Emmys, four Peabody Awards, multiple Independent Spirit, IDA, PGA and DGA awards, and duPont-Columbia and Robert F. Kennedy journalism awards. Panel discussion. As COOKED links the deadly heat wave's devastation back to the underlying manmade disaster of structural racism, it delves deep into one of our nation's biggest growth industries: Disaster Preparedness. COOKED is an adaptation of 'HEAT WAVE: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago' (2002), Eric Klinenberg's groundbreaking book. Be more independent. Doremus got her start working as an Assistant Editor on HOOP DREAMS and went on to serve as staff Producer at Kartemquin Films for the next eight years. This documentary focuses on Chicago's heat wave to look at how a weeklong tragedy is really a story about the "slow-motion disaster" caused by race and class inequality. 2020. "106600:57:43,175 --> 00:57:44,758[Judith] Buildingsare boarded up, there's106700:57:44,783 --> 00:57:46,701miles of empty lots,there's a lot of abandoned106800:57:46,726 --> 00:57:49,319I wondered about thatterm, like it was.106900:57:49,347 --> 00:57:53,310Why not better than before,or prepared for the future?107000:57:54,670 --> 00:57:56,799So when GeneralHeltzel invited me to107100:57:56,800 --> 00:57:59,699a federally-funded,seven-state, week-long107200:57:59,700 --> 00:58:03,093disaster preparednessexercise, I went.107300:58:05,447 --> 00:58:08,619Oye. Click here to watch (password =drivein), September 16: GreenTown Conference - film screening and panel discussion withJudithHelfand and other special guests, September 17: Cook County Racial Equity Week Film - Free Screening and Panel Discussion, September 10-September 24: Minority Health Film Festival 2020, Milwaukee [VIRTUAL SCREENINGS], September 21: CT panel discussion withJudithHelfand and other special guests, August 20, August 27, September 3 - Summer of Extremes: Racism, Health Inequity, and Heat, COVID-19 Collides With Climate Crisis: Boston/Brookline/Cambridge, Part 2 - Mental Health & Reporting Trauma. The Daley administration made a City Emergency Heat Plan after the 1995 disaster. Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com'Helfand's brilliance in Cooked is precisely the way she shifts and re-orients our entire social mentality and approach to thinking about racism, poverty, and disaster. "19000:10:03,900 --> 00:10:07,499I walked to theambulance and I looked in19100:10:07,500 --> 00:10:09,949and I saw these bodies in there19200:10:09,950 --> 00:10:14,259and they just laid her ontop of the other bodies,19300:10:14,260 --> 00:10:15,973like she was a cord of wood.19400:10:19,581 --> 00:10:22,542And then I thought,well, does that mean19500:10:22,553 --> 00:10:24,509that they're gonnago get other bodies19600:10:24,510 --> 00:10:26,710and lay the bodies ontop of my grandmother?19700:10:30,425 --> 00:10:32,761{\an8}Well the chief medicalexaminer tells us tonight19800:10:32,806 --> 00:10:36,685{\an8}that at least 50 more bodiesawait examination tomorrow.19900:10:36,710 --> 00:10:38,729{\an8}We did get a bit of abreak from the heat tonight20000:10:38,754 --> 00:10:41,668{\an8}but the number of heat-relateddeaths continues to grow.20100:10:42,060 --> 00:10:43,649The crush was so intense,20200:10:43,650 --> 00:10:46,749a refrigerated truck wasbrought in to store bodies20300:10:46,750 --> 00:10:48,580until staff could get to them.20400:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,789Now also, we just saw fivemore refrigerated trucks20500:10:52,790 --> 00:10:53,859go by us.20600:10:53,860 --> 00:10:56,359Apparently the one refrigeratedtruck they've got back there20700:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,659is already full,they're bringing extras20800:10:58,660 --> 00:11:01,059for what could be a verylong couple of days.20900:11:01,060 --> 00:11:02,599It has been a breakfrom the heat,21000:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,749but they're now discoveringthe bodies that were dead21100:11:04,750 --> 00:11:07,379on Thursday and Friday,and they're now discovering them21200:11:07,380 --> 00:11:09,053as they begin to decompose.21300:11:12,843 --> 00:11:14,596There had been noannouncements on the news,21400:11:14,620 --> 00:11:17,641no discussion from thecity, no checking on people.21500:11:18,050 --> 00:11:20,189{\an8}But the minute you see,in the paper or on the news,21600:11:20,190 --> 00:11:22,749{\an8}wherever I saw it first, thatthere're refrigerator trucks,21700:11:22,750 --> 00:11:24,249{\an8}that means there'sso many dead bodies21800:11:24,271 --> 00:11:26,231{\an8}that the coroner doesn'thave room for 'em anymore.21900:11:26,255 --> 00:11:29,055{\an8}That's enough, right thereyou know you were in trouble.22000:11:30,320 --> 00:11:31,820You can't bring any more in.22100:11:32,835 --> 00:11:34,909(slow, somber music)22200:11:34,910 --> 00:11:37,823I was at the medical examiner'soffice for a solid week.22300:11:39,180 --> 00:11:42,415They were doing autopsiesvery nearly around the clock.22400:11:42,970 --> 00:11:44,917{\an8}You almost had to run a gauntlet22500:11:44,941 --> 00:11:47,879{\an8}to walk through anywhere,22600:11:47,904 --> 00:11:52,357{\an8}to avoid touching atray that held a body.22700:11:53,882 --> 00:11:55,195It looked like a war zone.22800:11:58,890 --> 00:12:00,720With the medicalexaminer's office,22900:12:01,410 --> 00:12:04,517{\an8}they couldn't afford to gothrough all of the steps,23000:12:04,518 --> 00:12:07,873{\an8}so, everybody had togo and find their own.23100:12:10,610 --> 00:12:12,979{\an8}So I had to get up in atruck and there was maybe 8023200:12:12,980 --> 00:12:18,076{\an8}to a hundred remains ormore, in the bags.23300:12:18,100 --> 00:12:19,969{\an8}So basically had to gothrough every remain,23400:12:19,970 --> 00:12:21,118{\an8}checking toe tags,23500:12:21,661 --> 00:12:24,956until we could find the personsthat we were coming to get.23600:12:24,970 --> 00:12:28,239So in event of someonethat I was picking up,23700:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,799it was like maybe acouple of people on top.23800:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,349So you had to justtry to move them over.23900:12:33,350 --> 00:12:36,469It was just, it was,yeah it was sad really.24000:12:36,470 --> 00:12:37,570You know it's a sight.24100:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,223It did have an emotionaleffect on all of us.24200:12:44,268 --> 00:12:47,579We couldn't just sit andboo hoo with the family.24300:12:47,580 --> 00:12:50,043We had to maintainour professionalism.24400:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,029{\an8}Saturday morning I camein and we had 87 cases.24500:12:57,030 --> 00:13:00,459{\an8}Sunday morning we had 83cases and today we have 117.24600:13:00,460 --> 00:13:01,923{\an8}Now our average is 17.24700:13:03,350 --> 00:13:04,329So what we're seeing here24800:13:04,330 --> 00:13:06,383is we're seeing anexcess mortality.24900:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,833I'm around deathon a daily basis.25000:13:12,850 --> 00:13:14,253'95 was frightening.25100:13:17,030 --> 00:13:22,030{\an8}This was in a SRO, which is asingle room occupancy hotel.25200:13:22,910 --> 00:13:25,169These are folks that couldn'tafford air conditioning,25300:13:25,170 --> 00:13:27,520or the electricity torun the air conditioning.25400:13:28,850 --> 00:13:30,449You can see thewindows are closed25500:13:30,450 --> 00:13:32,500and there's not evena fan in the window.25600:13:33,920 --> 00:13:35,769There were two peopleat the same time.25700:13:35,770 --> 00:13:37,539One of 'em was havinga heart attack,25800:13:37,540 --> 00:13:39,633and another guy wasDOA from the heat.25900:13:46,260 --> 00:13:47,869They brought him outand took him over26000:13:47,870 --> 00:13:49,543to the medicalexaminer's office.26100:13:51,270 --> 00:13:54,339And unfortunately this isa sight that I saw often,26200:13:54,340 --> 00:13:58,503but usually victims ofhomicides, not from heat.26300:14:07,170 --> 00:14:09,609{\an8}We cannot sayexactly how many deaths26400:14:09,610 --> 00:14:12,329{\an8}are a direct result of the heat.26500:14:12,330 --> 00:14:15,899{\an8}But we know that the numberof non-violent deaths26600:14:15,900 --> 00:14:18,443{\an8}over the last four dayscontinued to climb.26700:14:19,390 --> 00:14:20,969In the last four26800:14:20,970 --> 00:14:23,369[Judith] Non-violent deaths?26900:14:23,370 --> 00:14:25,609I had to stop and replaythe mayor's comment27000:14:25,610 --> 00:14:28,449a few times over,to try and wrap my head around27100:14:28,450 --> 00:14:30,143what he meant by that term.27200:14:30,832 --> 00:14:34,211That the number of non-violentdeaths continued to27300:14:34,230 --> 00:14:36,869[Judith] Because being cookedto death behind closed doors27400:14:36,870 --> 00:14:39,763seemed to me to be apretty violent way to die.27500:14:46,181 --> 00:14:48,517Oh when you have three,when you have 339 people,27600:14:48,558 --> 00:14:51,089there's a lot of people dead,I mean, that's a lot of people.27700:14:53,146 --> 00:14:54,439[Man At Door] This Mr. Patrick?27800:14:54,463 --> 00:14:55,755[Announcer] Crisis intervention27900:14:55,774 --> 00:14:57,919workers respond tocalls of concern.28000:14:57,943 --> 00:15:00,609A 60-year-old womanhadn't been heard from.28100:15:00,610 --> 00:15:04,109Take all this away fromhere, and open this window up.28200:15:04,110 --> 00:15:05,629Well I'm on the first floor.28300:15:05,630 --> 00:15:07,829[Man] Oh you afraid ofsomebody throwing some bricks28400:15:07,830 --> 00:15:09,339- or something?- They'd come in.28500:15:09,340 --> 00:15:10,970[Man] Oh,you think that might come in?28600:15:10,994 --> 00:15:12,481You have a screenhere, don't you dear?28700:15:12,482 --> 00:15:13,314[Woman] Yes sir.28800:15:13,315 --> 00:15:14,969They'll break the screen open?28900:15:14,970 --> 00:15:16,722What will a sharpknife do to a screen?29000:15:16,723 --> 00:15:19,069[Man] Yes, it will.29100:15:19,070 --> 00:15:21,499[Judith] As I watchedthis agonizing choice29200:15:21,500 --> 00:15:24,669between staying safeand staying cool,29300:15:24,670 --> 00:15:26,719I thought about thenine refrigerated trucks29400:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,909that were parked outsidethe county morgue for weeks,29500:15:29,910 --> 00:15:33,969each one filled with hundredsof deceased Chicago residents.29600:15:33,970 --> 00:15:36,869And how ironic it was,that they finally got29700:15:36,870 --> 00:15:40,453the air conditioning theyneeded while awaiting autopsy.29800:15:43,947 --> 00:15:46,575{\an8}Cooler air came rushingin across the country today,29900:15:46,610 --> 00:15:47,983{\an8}after a brutal heatwave.30000:15:49,810 --> 00:15:52,779Hardest hit was the cityof Chicago and its elderly.30100:15:52,780 --> 00:15:53,949Many are wondering tonight,30200:15:53,950 --> 00:15:56,999how could heat killso many people?30300:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,729{\an8}Sexiness for the new mediawas it was about the heat.30400:16:00,730 --> 00:16:02,459{\an8}But, the real story is,30500:16:02,460 --> 00:16:04,710{\an8}why were people in theseneighborhoods dying?30600:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,179People weren't dyingon the north side,30700:16:09,180 --> 00:16:11,130people weren't dyingin the Gold Coast.30800:16:14,644 --> 00:16:17,867People were dying on thesouth and west sides.30900:16:22,020 --> 00:16:24,149[Judith] Eric gave methe medical examiner's list31000:16:24,150 --> 00:16:26,453of heatwave victimswith their addresses,31100:16:28,510 --> 00:16:30,799and I went frombuilding to building31200:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,609wondering why there were moredeaths in some neighborhoods31300:16:33,610 --> 00:16:36,389than others,and about all the elements31400:16:36,390 --> 00:16:40,459that lead up to someonedying a slow, violent death31500:16:40,460 --> 00:16:42,233alone in the heat.31600:16:44,230 --> 00:16:49,236Why is it that people dieduring an extreme weather event?31700:16:49,260 --> 00:16:52,139{\an8}Well I think peopledie from the heat31800:16:52,140 --> 00:16:56,163{\an8}for two highlycorrelated reasons.31900:16:58,010 --> 00:17:02,779One is 'cause it's hotand they're not able32000:17:02,780 --> 00:17:05,609to defend themselvesagainst the heat.32100:17:05,610 --> 00:17:10,610And that defense could be interms of opening their windows.32200:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,019And in poor,vulnerable communities,32300:17:13,020 --> 00:17:15,309people don't wannaopen their windows.32400:17:15,310 --> 00:17:18,089It could be by turningon the air conditioner,32500:17:18,090 --> 00:17:19,559and in vulnerable communities,32600:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,979people don't haveair conditioning.32700:17:21,980 --> 00:17:25,809And it could also begoing outside their house32800:17:25,810 --> 00:17:29,299and going to an institutionwhere there is air conditioning.32900:17:29,300 --> 00:17:32,679For example, a public librarymight have air conditioning.33000:17:32,680 --> 00:17:34,539Or even the lobby ofan apartment house33100:17:34,540 --> 00:17:36,009might have air conditioning.33200:17:36,010 --> 00:17:40,689And, vulnerable communitiestend not to have those as well.33300:17:40,690 --> 00:17:43,499The second,and intimately related factor,33400:17:43,500 --> 00:17:47,879is if you have apre-existing condition,33500:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,039so it's alreadyweakened your body,33600:17:50,040 --> 00:17:53,459then clearly it's gonna beeasier for the heat to kill you.33700:17:53,460 --> 00:17:55,689{\an8}[Announcer] It canhappen so quickly.33800:17:55,690 --> 00:17:59,819Temperature inside soars, yourbody can't regulate the heat.33900:17:59,820 --> 00:18:02,539It can happen toanyone of any age,34000:18:02,540 --> 00:18:04,993but seniors areparticularly vulnerable.34100:18:06,673 --> 00:18:08,386The question is,what do we do about that?34200:18:08,410 --> 00:18:11,689Can we minimizethose excess deaths?34300:18:11,690 --> 00:18:13,967And the answer is, yes,we could have minimized it.34400:18:19,411 --> 00:18:21,413We've offered that,but there's not a great number34500:18:21,438 --> 00:18:23,529of people who've come inand taken advantage of it.34600:18:24,107 --> 00:18:26,482There's really verylittle explanation for it.34700:18:27,485 --> 00:18:28,527Thank you.34800:18:35,437 --> 00:18:38,679[Judith] Do you think thishas anything to do with race?34900:18:38,680 --> 00:18:43,806I think that, I have to go with,35000:18:43,830 --> 00:18:46,009there's a sayingin Chicago that's35100:18:46,010 --> 00:18:47,649everything is about race.35200:18:47,650 --> 00:18:50,859The majority of the peoplethat died were minority,35300:18:50,860 --> 00:18:52,459mostly poor.35400:18:52,460 --> 00:18:54,409You don't have tobe poor to be black,35500:18:54,410 --> 00:18:56,509you don't have tobe black to be poor.35600:18:56,510 --> 00:18:57,545But35700:19:00,060 --> 00:19:02,020{\an8}[Judith] Just as manyChicagoans were starting35800:19:02,044 --> 00:19:04,579{\an8}to realise that the blackcommunity had suffered35900:19:04,580 --> 00:19:07,039{\an8}a disproportionatenumber of deaths,36000:19:07,040 --> 00:19:09,233{\an8}Mayor Daley wenton the offensive.36100:19:09,570 --> 00:19:12,019[Announcer] For his part,Daley pointed a finger of blame36200:19:12,020 --> 00:19:14,409at some of the familiesof the senior citizens36300:19:14,410 --> 00:19:17,009who died all alonein the hellish heat.36400:19:17,010 --> 00:19:21,229We have to appeal, to allthe family members of seniors,36500:19:21,230 --> 00:19:24,509to call, go over there,see their mother or father36600:19:24,510 --> 00:19:26,510or their aunt anduncle, that is a must.36700:19:27,380 --> 00:19:29,029{\an8}I think there was denial.36800:19:29,030 --> 00:19:33,649{\an8}A lot of the heads ofstate were in denial36900:19:33,650 --> 00:19:35,609{\an8}about what was going on you see,37000:19:35,610 --> 00:19:39,083{\an8}because it didn'ttouch them directly.37100:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,423And because it didn't,they weren't involved directly,37200:19:45,120 --> 00:19:46,523they didn't feel the pinch.37300:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,639Because they had theirair-conditioned places.37400:19:50,640 --> 00:19:52,419And they had theirswimming pools37500:19:52,420 --> 00:19:54,500and things thatthey could go to.37600:19:54,501 --> 00:19:57,789Whereas, our people didn'thave anyplace to go.37700:19:57,790 --> 00:19:59,871[Judith] Do you thinkit's really about the heat?37800:19:59,872 --> 00:20:04,093No, no,it's just about the lack of,37900:20:05,750 --> 00:20:08,350oh God help me,I don't wanna say that.38000:20:09,587 --> 00:20:12,519We'll just say,it's about a lack of compassion38100:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,525on a lot of parts.38200:20:14,526 --> 00:20:15,999It's not really about the heat.38300:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,679I think that there'sno need for poverty,38400:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,499- as much poverty- As we have.38500:20:20,515 --> 00:20:22,708in our community as there is.38600:20:25,830 --> 00:20:27,499[Judith] Evenafter the heat broke,38700:20:27,500 --> 00:20:29,829the death countcontinued to climb.38800:20:29,830 --> 00:20:33,599And when it reached525, the mayor shifted38900:20:33,600 --> 00:20:35,259from blaming the families,39000:20:35,260 --> 00:20:37,922to questioning the medicalexaminer's numbers,39100:20:38,390 --> 00:20:40,959{\an8}which turned out to be apretty effective distraction.39200:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,279{\an8}You can't contributeit all to heat.39300:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,049{\an8}- But I mean- You can't, it's impossible.39400:20:45,050 --> 00:20:47,180{\an8}The mayor thinks therefigures should be examined,39500:20:47,181 --> 00:20:49,031{\an8}the medical examiner'soffice thinks39600:20:49,055 --> 00:20:50,728{\an8}that they willwithstand scrutiny.39700:20:50,729 --> 00:20:53,274{\an8}We would be delighted tohave these figures examined.39800:20:54,424 --> 00:20:56,468[Judith] While the mayorand the medical examiner39900:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,999were having theirvery public argument,40000:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,039the figures were being checked40100:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,469by the city's ownchief epidemiologist.40200:21:04,470 --> 00:21:07,009I knew that peoplewould be dying40300:21:07,010 --> 00:21:09,339throughout the city ofChicago of the heat,40400:21:09,340 --> 00:21:12,436but dying in hospitals,and the doctors would say,40500:21:12,437 --> 00:21:14,096"Well,I've been treating this guy40600:21:14,097 --> 00:21:16,396for heart diseasefor three years,40700:21:16,397 --> 00:21:19,469and now he diedof heart disease.
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