How Chicago's 80,000 Homeless People Are Surviving in Deadly Zero-Degree Weather

Peter Illich, 56, was feeding the ducks by Lake Michigan on Monday night when he noticed the temperature suddenly drop. Instead of turning in for shelter, Illich curled up on a park bench, his snowsuit his only protection from the cold.

The next day, he says, he noticed that he had frostbite in his hands. This has happened to him before.

“You can’t open and close your hands for ten days,” Illich says.

Peter Illich, 56, was feeding the ducks by Lake Michigan on Monday night when he noticed the temperature suddenly drop. Instead of turning in for shelter, Illich curled up on a park bench, his snowsuit his only protection from the cold. The next day, he says, he noticed that he had frostbite in his hands. This has happened to him before. “You can’t open and close your hands for ten days,” Illich says.