A frigid wave has slammed the northern U.S., claiming lives as conditions stretch community resources thin. In Cook County, a man perished due to cold exposure, marking the season's first cold-related death. The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed that 60-year-old Andrew Siemionko was found Thursday, unresponsive in Schiller Park, succumbing to the bitter snap that seized Chicago. An autopsy deemed his death related to the weather and accidental, reported the Chicago Tribune.
Meanwhile, numerous states have been lashed by a colossal winter storm, which has not only brought snow, but also ice, and bone-chilling winds that sank temperatures to brutal lows. Tripped up by the blizzard, Republican presidential hopefuls were forced to derail their campaign events, with Nikki Haley's and Ron DeSantis’ campaign events postponed or shifted to phone in Iowa, where blizzard warnings remain in effect. "Black ice" has terrorized Missouri roads and spurred more than 1,000 flight cancellations at Chicago's airports. The National Weather Service warned about freezing roads and the risk of hypothermia and frostbite in this deadly cold, according to NBC Washington.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the suspension of a 60-day cap on shelter stays owing to the intense cold. Simultaneously, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rejected pleas from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who implored a cessation of migrant transportation to Chicago to "save lives." Abbott cited President Biden to take action and secure the U.S.-Mexico border as migrants decamp in warming buses around Chicago.
