Three women died of suspected heat exhaustion in Rogers Park senior home

Officials are investigating why the building manager didn’t turn on the air conditioning as indoor temperatures reached over 100 degrees last week.

By Char Daston
Janice Reed (right) and her son, Veldarin Jackson Sr. Reed was found dead Saturday at the James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park, along with two other women.
Janice Reed (right) and her son, Veldarin Jackson Sr. Reed was found dead Saturday at the James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park, along with two other women. Provided / Chicago Sun-Times
Janice Reed (right) and her son, Veldarin Jackson Sr. Reed was found dead Saturday at the James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park, along with two other women.
Janice Reed (right) and her son, Veldarin Jackson Sr. Reed was found dead Saturday at the James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park, along with two other women. Provided / Chicago Sun-Times

Three women died of suspected heat exhaustion in Rogers Park senior home

Officials are investigating why the building manager didn’t turn on the air conditioning as indoor temperatures reached over 100 degrees last week.

By Char Daston
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Last week’s record-breaking heat was deadly for three women at the James Sneider Apartments, a living facility for seniors and people with disabilities in Rogers Park. The women were found unresponsive Saturday after multiple heat complaints from residents.

Reset discusses what can be done to prevent this from happening again, and reflects on lessons from Chicago’s 1995 heat wave.

GUESTS: Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th Ward

Eric Klinenberg, sociologist at New York University; author of Heat Wave: a Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago