Dozens of Chicago Park District fieldhouses receiving cooling upgrades
Chicago has been feeling the heat this week, with highs in the 90s the past five days, but officials are making moves to cool off some of the hottest parts of the city, specifically Chicago Park District fieldhouses where many turn to keep cool.
Blackhawk Park in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood is one of 42 parks the city zeroed in on as areas more severely impacted by heat, and they did it using the heat vulnerability index, which shows what areas are highest risk during weather like this.
Set on almost 7 acres, the Blackhawk Park fieldhouse serves as a base for youth programs and summer camps for kids of all ages; kids who need a place to cool off and breathe clean air this week amid the heat and wildfire smoke.
Like many in Chicago, not everyone who visits Blackhawk Park has air conditioning at home. With this park here for nearly 100 years, it's time for some upgrades.
Their cooling system was recently updated in time for summer 2026.
"It's so good and so important to have a cooled facility where you're able to bring everyone indoors and they're able to be safe," said Chicago Park District general superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa.
Upgrades at Blackhawk Park are part of a larger project to update cooling systems in 42 parks. The sites were chosen using the Chicago Heat Vulnerability Index.
The system was developed by researchers at Northwestern University pulling data from local hospitals and health departments, plus historical trends and community characteristics.
"To sort of get a clearer sense of which community areas are most vulnerable to heat but also why," said researcher Finley Hay-Chapman.
The team behind the tool said they're happy to hear the city is applying the work to solutions like this.
"As temperatures rise and heatwaves become more common and longer lasting, cooling initiatives like the Parks' field houses will become increasingly important."
The city's South and West sides were found to be more vulnerable to heat – including the West Garfield Park, East Side, North Lawndale, and Chicago Lawn neighborhoods.
Ramirez-Rosa said officials are spending $1 million dollars from TIF surplus into this cooling effort. Upgrades at 20 fieldhouses will be complete by the end of the summer, and at 10 more by the end of 2026. The last 12 are part of larger improvement projects.
"Climate change is real and we want to make sure we are facing it head on and making wise investments to take care of community particularly the most vulnerable," Ramirez-Rosa said.
Officials also are testing more innovative cooling technologies for future projects.
It could mean anything from planting more trees to using specific systems.
"We are piloting new technologies; technologies that have been around for a while, but haven't been used by the district until now. So we have installed 11 AC split systems in this building, and it's doing an incredible job of keeping this building cool," Ramirez-Rosa said of the new cooling system at Blackhawk Park.
