"Faith-based refugee resettlement organizations are raising alarms that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is detaining lawfully resettled refugees," reports @saraheinselen.bsky.social for @sojo.net. *lawfully resettled* let that sink in sojo.net/articles/new...

Chicago: Always Down, Never Out (No Matter What)

Lexi the dog has never watched a complete football game with me before and she is so confused this evening but enjoying all of the extra pets

This is only of the only commercials NBC/Peacock has been showing me all week

Yelling at my tv before this Bears game has even started because of how poorly these reporters are dressed for the weather.

The independent bookstore, which is closing Jan. 31, said sales dropped after Barnes & Noble opened nearby.

A lot of new nuggets in here, including the context in which ICE arrested a 5-year-old U.S. citizen and deported her to Honduras: Austin’s police chief says the girl’s mom called cops after a man she had an expired restraining order against showed up at their home.

abolish,

A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.

We’re hiring an editor in chief to execute a strategy for scrutinizing the Cook County court system, provide direction and supervision to our editorial team, and work across departments to maintain a standard of excellence that aligns with our mission. buff.ly/m2ySFTD

statement I received from World Relief's Matthew Soerens is among the strongest language I've seen from him

Also lol: religion reporting, 2026.

This is also why we should practice solidarity between different forms of art, with regards to Gen AI, and refuse slop in all its forms, at all stages of the process. According due respect to other people's work - the same respect we'd like accorded to ours - that should be the goal.

“I was talking with one ICE agent about Matthew 25, ‘Whatever you did for the least of these, you did unto me,’” said Rev. @sohayward.bsky.social. “He told me he was going to go home and read Matthew 25 tonight." Great reporting, @mitchellatencio.com sojo.net/articles/new...

One thing that gave me hope today was seeing flyers in the lobby of our vet’s office with immigration resources. Over the past few months as I’ve visited local bakeries, my favorite comic shop, sports bar, library, church, and now the vet, I have seen whistles and resources for community organizing.

Check out my new book! www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Tim...

NEW from me: At least two clergy were among those shoved, shot at with pepper rounds and exposed to pepper spray while protesting the actions of in Minnesota after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman who had been observing them. religionnews.com/2026/01/07/m...

On this: officials are referring to the woman ICE shot today as an "observer." For the unaware, this kind of pushback is very common in cities where ICE is operating across the country. Clergy do this too, and I rode along w/high schoolers doing it in Nov. religionnews.com/2025/11/25/h...

“‘She was trying to turn around, and the ICE agent was in front of her car, and he pulled out a gun and put it right in — like, his midriff was on her bumper — and he reached across the hood of the car and shot her in the face like three, four times,’ Heller said.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

And it sounds like Ethiopia is not the only country that's had visa issues heading into Saturday's World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida. www.letsrun.com/news/2026/01...

We’re looking for an experienced newsroom leader with a track record of producing and editing impactful, community-centered journalism. If that sounds like you, apply to be our next editor in chief: buff.ly/jKsWWgE

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin's statement on why he voted to confirm Marco Rubio for Secretary of State:

My 2026 prediction: Progressive Christians get Loud. daniellekurtzleben.substack.com/p/my-2026-pr...

Exactly as Eliza Hamilton intended

In the aftermath of the ACNA archbishop's suspension following allegations of misconduct, interim leader Bishop Julian Dobbs is accused of misusing charity funds. @ianshapira.bsky.social's latest looks at an ACNA probe into a 102-page investigative file: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Block Club’s 2025 Neighborhood Print Subscription Special Is Ending 🖼️ Our goal is to secure 900 subscribers by Dec. 31 to sustain and expand our coverage. Subscribe, upgrade or gift today to support local, independent journalism AND get a free print! SUBSCRIBE NOW: blockclubchi.co/4rofWx0

When I was at the Sundance Film Festival a few years back, I walked past a person on my way to lunch and thought “that guy looks like Daniel Radcliffe.” When I checked IMDb that evening I saw that it was him.

ICE’s Illinois arrests during Trump’s crackdown were among the nation’s highest — and most people arrested didn’t have criminal records. Here are 4 other findings our investigative team discovered from ICE's own data: blockclubchi.co/3YM9x1i

A church "was hosting a holiday food giveaway with crowds bundled up outside waiting for food when Border Patrol agents showed up," and "Students ... were escorted back into the building by teachers who put up barricades as crowds formed around agents’ vehicles, @blockclubchi.bsky.social reports

Featured Book. Did you know that American Indigenous peoples call North America "Turtle Island"? Indigenous translations of biblical narratives have opened my eyes to new aspects of familiar stories. Can't wait to see what else this book opens up! @ivpacademic.bsky.social

Save room in your suitcase for 'The New Testament in Color' again this year! If you're attending the academic conferences in Boston this week, be sure to plan ahead!

Because the Fox News Taco Bell graphic is making the rounds again: 1. This is a screen grab from May 2024 2. We do not need to worry about the spicy potato soft taco. Fox is not a trustworthy source 3. Misinformation for satire/comedic effect is still misinformation www.snopes.com/fact-check/f...

This article accurately describes what happened at Broadview yesterday. “[T]he cruelty that goes on at that facility … must be 100 times worse.” religionnews.com/2025/11/15/a...

Multiple faith leaders reportedly arrested while protesting at the Broadview ICE facility in Illinois:

#TeamUP in religious studies with @ivpacademic.bsky.social and Marquette University Press! Learn more about their featured works in the #UPWeek Gallery: https://bit.ly/47i1X3X#TeamUP

A Berwyn family was driving with their 1-year-old child Saturday when they were pepper-sprayed by federal agents, a video taken by the family shows. The action appears to violate a judge’s restriction on use of force.

This story now includes video, released by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, of the baby being exposed to chemical irritants fired by federal agents from their convoy into the car she was riding in with members of her family near 26th Street and Ogden Avenue in Cicero.

Federal immigration agents were confronted in Oak Park on Saturday morning by residents blowing whistles as local Girl Scouts collect food for local pantries, rattling some girls and their parents. trib.al/ADixIUH

“Federal authorities told demonstrators Friday that there would be ‘no more prayer’ in front of or inside the Broadview ICE facility, in a move that mystified local leaders and raised legal questions.” blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/07/f...

“The ACNA leadership has to stop expecting people to blindly trust them. That ship has sailed,” Miller said. “They have to start demonstrating that they are absolutely trustworthy, that they are well above reproach, if they expect our denomination to survive.” ⚓️ livingchurch.org/news/acna-ar...

This was a major topic of conversation tonight at our run club* *and by run club I mean we met up and decided to eat tacos instead of going for a run

Homework is taking longer than usual tonight because I can’t get over that one of ancient tablets I had to read this week has an incantation that’s essentially a prescription for penicillin.

“If they are doing this to pastors who are praying [...] then it makes me shudder to imagine what they might be doing to our neighbors behind closed doors," says Rev. David Black. sojo.net/articles/int...

THESE ARE OUR MOST READ PIECES EVERY YEAR! If you are a UP editor or on the ed board of a journal, you can submit everything you published this year written by a contingent historian. Get them in front of people's eyes!

The highest-ranking prelate of the Anglican Church in North America has been formally accused of sexual harassment, plagiarism and bullying by former employees. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/u...

One of the reasons I find the abuse of power in the ACNA so horrifying is how many of us attended ACNA churches after attending spiritually abusive churches and were told the ecclesiastical hierarchy meant there would be accountability if something ever happened in one of our churches.

Archbishop Steve Wood, who heads the Anglican Church of North America, faces of sexual harassment allegations. This marks the latest in a string of crises to rock the small, conservative denomination.

Can I sell copies of my own book at readings and similar events? https://bit.ly/3pceRtQ University press publishers answer frequently asked questions like this one on our #AskUP site. Curious about how university press publishing works? #AskUP!

NEW — Oak Park attorney Scott Sakiyama supported a neighboring Black family while federal prosecutors accused their son of assaulting a Border Patrol agent. Ten days later, federal agents arrested Sakiyama himself. thetriibe.com/2025/10/chir...

I personally know many of the clergy who have signed onto this letter and I am grateful for their commitment to following the biblical mandates to care for migrants and prisoners.