A brutal heat wave, a sweltering apartment, and a landmark South Loop address are making one tenant’s battle over air conditioning feel like more than just a maintenance issue. A resident of the historic Johnson Publishing Company building at 820 S. Michigan Ave. says she has been forced to sleep elsewhere for several nights after her AC cut out while Chicago’s heat index surged into the triple digits. Inside, she says, the temperature crept to around 80°F as the city baked outside.
Tenant says calls went unanswered as apartment heated up
Juel Stanley, who lives on the 10th floor of the converted Johnson Publishing building, told FOX 32 Chicago that her air conditioning stopped working before the recent heat wave hit. As temperatures climbed, she said she left to stay with family while her unit warmed up. According to FOX 32, Stanley reported that repeated calls and emails to the property’s management went unanswered and that she has effectively been displaced for three nights.
Forecasters and city officials urged Chicagoans to cool off
The National Weather Service issued Extreme Heat Warnings for Cook County and warned of heat index readings near 105°F on some afternoons, citing serious risks of heat-related illness during the multi-day blast of hot, humid weather. In response, the city opened daytime cooling centers and urged residents to call 311 to find locations or request welfare checks during the heat emergency, according to City of Chicago guidance.
Former Johnson Publishing hub adds emotional weight to outage
The address at 820 S. Michigan Avenue once housed Johnson Publishing’s headquarters and appears in local landmark records as an important work by architect John Moutoussamy, giving the building outsize cultural and architectural resonance. For Stanley, that history runs through her own family. Her late stepmother and other relatives worked for the publisher, so watching the building go hot has felt personal, not just like a broken appliance.
What renters can do when the heat is on
Under Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, landlords must maintain rental units and make needed repairs in a timely way. Tenants dealing with unsafe or unlivable conditions can request inspections and pursue remedies provided under city law. Research has found that many Chicago homes do not have central air, which makes working cooling systems and access to relief especially critical during heat waves. A recent Elevate and Northwestern study uses an indoor temperature of 80°F as a threshold for potentially unsafe conditions. Renters with urgent safety concerns can reach out to tenant-rights organizations or legal aid hotlines for guidance on their options.
“Right now, it is tremendously hot. It feels like a sauna,” Stanley told FOX 32 Chicago, adding that she is waiting on repairs so she can move back home. Her frustration is a snapshot of a larger problem in Chicago and other cities, where extreme heat puts pressure on aging buildings, strained landlords, and renters who may have few good options when the AC cuts out at the worst possible time.
