Chicago woman continues to honor brother killed in 9/11 attacks

This week marks 25 years since the September 11th attacks in New York. 

As that day approaches, one woman in Chicago is relying on an annual ritual to get her through the day.

Josh Todd Aron, who was an equities trader, was living in New York City on September 11, 2001. He was 29 years old. His sister, Dana Weiner, was home in Chicago when her only sibling died.

Aron worked in the North Tower at the World Trade Center. American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. that Tuesday morning, preventing any way of exiting between the 93rd and 99th floors, Weiner said. Her brother was on the 104th floor.

The building burned for an hour and 42 minutes.

"He called his wife of 11 months, Rachel, and he said, ' A plane hit the building, call my mom, call my dad, call my sister,' and then he said, ' I gotta go.'

The tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.

"September 11 was to be my first day returning to the workforce," Weiner said.

She had given birth to her son seven months before and was about to return to her job at Northwestern University, but never got to work when she heard news of the attack. 

She spent that day like many Americans.

"Possibly the worst moment of my life was watching the building come down," she said. "I always protect that day. I don't work on September 11th and I kind of have my ritual I do just to honor Josh's memory."

Weiner's ritual includes taking out a box of Josh's things and going through them every year — some of it brings tears, but some brings a smile, like a Mother's Day card. 

"It says you're a way cool mom. Congratulations on your first mom's day."

Photos like Josh with their father, even the keys to Josh's New York apartment, are all reminders of their time together, his life and somber reminders of his death. Over the course of a year after the attacks, the newspaper profiled nearly all of the 911 victims, including Josh.

Twenty-five years later, Weiner, like other families, is waiting for justice and has joined some lawsuits.

"It's been a very long time. I'm appreciative of the efforts of the people who continue to advocate for the countries that aided and abetted these terrorists to be held accountable," she said.

Several class action and individual lawsuits are pending against countries, charities, financial institutions and individual defendants, like the hijackers. They include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of the Sudan, Taliban, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, the International Islamic Relief Organization, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Muslim World League and the Dubai Islamic Bank.

The lawsuits against the Islamic Republic of Iran ended in a default judgment, and some families, like Weiner, received payouts.

"In my mind there's no justice for this. Like, nothing, no amount of money can ease the pain of having lost my brother in the prime of his life on a sunny Tuesday ...  but it doesn't seem fair for those countries to not have to be held accountable," Weiner said.

Josh would have been 54 years old if he'd lived. Weiner says she honors him by living life to the fullest. She has a husband and two grown children.

"The people who know me would tell you, if there's a plan on somebody's lips, I will make it a reality within a matter of days, because you just don't know how long you don't know if it could be a sunny Tuesday ... and everything could end."