Push for changes to heating and cooling requirements in Chicago to be heard by zoning committee

CHICAGO (CBS)– Alderwoman Maria Hadden’s proposed amendments to heating and cooling requirements in Chicago will be heard by the zoning committee Tuesday. 

One change would require building owners make temperature adjustments in the often unpredictable months of May and October, which didn’t happen in the James Sneider Apartments. 

Hadden said her staffers also began calling buildings to make sure they were prepared for this extreme heat and to avoid a tragic repeat of what happened inside the James Sneider Apartments in May.

It’s where three residents died, even after repeated calls to building management and the city for help.

A public records request from CBS 2 found there were five calls made to 311 about the extreme heat in the building. Most were made days before the three residents died on May 14. 

Right now, the law only requires landlords provide heat between September 15 and June 1.

The ordinance would require all permanent air conditioning in all new construction and require that cooling systems be turned on on days when the heat index is higher than 80 degrees.