Six people in Cook County have died from heat-related causes in July so far, marking the deadliest stretch of extreme hot-weather deaths since at least 2015.
Victor Ferguson, 48, is the latest person identified who died in the heat wave this month. Ferguson died July 2 from heat stroke with ethanol intoxication as a secondary cause, according to new records from the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Four of the six people who died were younger than 60. In all, six July deaths have been logged in Cook County so far, the high temperature ranging from 88 to 95 degrees on the day they either died or were hospitalized, according to an analysis of National Weather Service data by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. During that first week of July, heading into the Fourth of July weekend, Cook County was under an extreme heat warning…