After a flood, mold sticks around and can make people sick

April 14, 2026

Dorothy Rosenthal sits outside her home in Garfield Park

Environment
Health & Medicine
Weather

Some 70,000 homes flooded in 2023, leaving mold in many West Side homes, including in Dorothy Rosenthal’s basement. The Chicago health department offers no help to flood victims like her.

By
Brett Chase

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This article was produced as a project for USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism and Center for Climate Journalism and Communication 2025 Health and Climate Change Reporting Fellowship.

Brett Chase

Assistant editor/reporter, environment

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Environment

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