NEWSPOEM 5 FEBRUARY 1996

"The biggest issue is getting cold people into warm places," said Chicago spokesman Terry Levin, "The bottom line: anyone who is cold can be taken somewhere warm."

COLD AS HELL

CHICAGO - 15 below, windchill 43 below. 2,000 people called the city complaining that they were without heat. 5,500 people counted in homeless shelters. The rest burned 2 billion cubic feet of gas in 24 hours. City officials were concerned that water mains might freeze. The largest threat to our country is a small nuclear device detonated by amateurs, a threat our own nuclear arsenal is no defesnse against. Governor Jim Edgar demanded that $5.2 million be extracted from the Pentagon's budget and made available to low income familes whose utilities have been disconnected.