CHICAGO – State Senator Mike Simmons joined community advocacy groups, hospital staff and local officials Friday morning to denounce the closure of Weiss Memorial Hospital and demand that it be preserved as a safety net hospital.

“Uptown is the landing ground for many immigrants and refugees and asylum-seekers from all around the world who would not have access to life-saving health care if it were not for Weiss Memorial Hospital. This is a mournful event. We cannot lose a safety net hospital on the far North Side of Chicago,” said Simmons (D-Chicago). “As a lifeline for residents of Uptown and surrounding neighborhoods, Weiss has served our most vulnerable populations for decades, providing critical emergency services and inpatient care to those who often have nowhere else to turn.”

Weiss Memorial Hospital on Chicago’s North Side was cut from Medicare and Medicaid after a years-long pattern of being in and out of compliance with state and federal regulators for everything from not having enough nurses per shift to failing to prevent inappropriate delays in treatment.

“In 2021, I stood on this same property with the community to fight back against private developers who sought to turn all of Weiss into a luxury high-rise development,” said Simmons. “We won then, and I am here to tell you that we will fight with everything we’ve got in the days and weeks ahead to hold Weiss accountable, preserve accessible, affordable health care for our community, and fight the encroachment of gentrification by private developers who do not care about the future of our communities.”

Weiss Hospital closed on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. Simmons is committed to working with his colleagues at the state and federal level to explore options for resuming health care services.

###