Patrick Nolan, an operating engineer at Cook County facilities management, said it was cots in the cafeteria when Cook County courthouses first started consistently opening as warming centers in 2017.
Over the years, Nolan said several organizations pitched in to donate blankets, snacks, water and even pet kennels for people sheltering overnight and during the day in the courthouses. The kennels are important so people do not have to abandon their pets in the cold, he said.
The three courthouses used as warming centers, in Markham, Skokie and Maywood, were activated as warming centers around the clock for four days in December, when the National Weather Service expected wind chill temperatures to reach 20 degrees below zero.
These warming centers were activated again at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be open until 8 a.m. on Wednesday because of the predicted cold weather this week. They open if wind chill temperatures are forecast to fall into the negative range, said Audrey Jonas, the communications deputy director of the Cook County Asset Management Bureau.
Jonas said the centers usually open a few times every winter. She said that even at 5 to 8 degrees below zero, activation could occur based on assessment of conditions such as cold duration and exposure risk.
As temperatures dropped Dec. 12 through 15, the number of people sheltering in the courthouses increased from four people and a dog the first day, to seven people the next day and 11 people on the final day. Five people sheltered in the Markham courthouse Dec. 15.
Nolan said these centers are necessary and called them a “humanitarian thing.” He said he was surprised to learn families and women with children come to the centers to take shelter.
“It’s not only a warming center, it’s also a place where people can come and relax,” he said. “It gives a little comfort for the basic necessities of life that they can’t get out on the street, and we’re able to offer that in a small amount of time.”
He said people can clean themselves up in the bathrooms and charge their phones. He said it’s important for people to charge their electronics because they are a means of communication and news.
Jonas said the courthouse warming centers are important, even if serving one person, especially because staff notice repeat visitors who rely on the them. Last year, she said, a family with two parents and several children showed up to a courthouse warming center in need.
“In the ways that we are able to help our most vulnerable and most in need residents, we can and we will,” She said. “For us it’s a way to kind of think about our public buildings beyond just the day-to-day business hours and services.”
Jonas said the staff at the warming centers are dedicated to providing dignity and a welcoming experience and environment.
She said the snacks and water are provided by the Salvation Army, the blankets by the Cook County Bureau of Asset Management, pet kennels by animal care control and security by the Cook County sheriff’s office.
Jonas said centers are intended to be very straightforward and simple to use. She said signs are displayed to make sure the general public knows the courthouse is a warming center that day.
When people show up to use the center, she said they can expect to walk through security then head to the cafeteria where resources are provided. She said 24-hour security is present.
Jonas said courthouses make great warming centers because they are large public buildings located near public transportation.
She said county officials chose the three locations because together they cover a wide area.
“We want to make sure that they’re kind of evenly dispersed throughout,” she said.
Jonas said that Cook County courthouses have long been used as warming centers, but an official countywide process for the initiative was established in 2017.
This process included a more consistent calculation for wind chill temperature standards and a network of courthouses that followed an activation procedure, she said.
The courthouses also open as cooling centers in warmer months.
Jonas said that The Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security monitors heat-index values and typically activate the centers when heat indices approach 100 degrees or when prolonged high heat is expected.
awright@chicagotribune.com
