On National Coming Out Day, know that I will always be an ally to you — no matter where you are on your journey. I know that times may be scary, but you are seen, safe, supported, and loved here in Illinois.

I think it’s pretty obvious that the billionaires aren’t paying enough taxes. They’re fine with the militarization of our streets; they can just fly above us in their jets. #taxtherich Marc Benioff Says Trump Should Send Guard Troops to San Francisco www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Republicans are trying to give their rich donors more tax cuts while your health care costs double.

Oop. Turns out that voters blame the GOP more for the shutdown by an average of 12 pts.

"The broader goal is the militarization of major cities before 2026 elections... Next year, I fear that what they're gonna do is deploy these folks to polling places & say they're protecting the vote. Trump knows without these breaches of the Constitution, he's gonna lose Congress." - Gov. Pritzker

DRAIN THE SWAMP

In 2019, I worked with Republicans to secure passage of legislation to guarantee all federal employees back pay during any shutdown. Trump signed it. Now, his bureaucrat, Russ Vought, is trying to go back on this promise. Federal employees get back pay. That’s the law.

The head of the U.N. refugee agency suggested Monday that President Donald Trump’s America has carried out deportation practices that violate international law, and criticized a wider “backlash” in some countries against migrants and refugees. https://to.pbs.org/4q4MtYo

We’re in a moment now where it would be worth people taking three hours to watch Gandhi, particularly the scene of the salt march. There is value to making the brutality of your opponent so plain as day that no one can argue with it. The clarity of that brought down an empire

The more America sees and hears from Stephen Miller, the worse it is for Trump and MAGA. He's a total freak and loser, repulsive to the majority, and he's the shadow President and currently the most powerful, unelected person in the country.

A huge congrats to Seattle scientist Mary E. Brunkow for winning the Nobel Prize in medicine! This is exactly the kind of groundbreaking work that we should be leading on — and it’s exactly why I’ll continue to fight Trump’s cuts to the NIH and research. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

"[A]gents engulfed my car in tear gas, smashed my driver-side window, and pepper-sprayed my face.... I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. No explanation. No charges. No apology. One day, I was just told, 'you’re free to go.'" #KavanaughStop

At its peak, about 1 in 7 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa caused by HIV/AIDS. It is now one in 20. PEPFAR takes a lot of credit. Since the launch of PMI in 2005, death rates from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa are down by a third. This is the time to double down, not walk away.

The ultimate version of this argument is that the constitution gives powers to Donald Trump, not to the president, and a lot of people seem to have bought in

You'll put down strangers, Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses, And lead the majesty of law in line, To slip him like a hound.

Remember that our despicable POTUS wants exactly this. Chaos. Violence. Tyranny.

Border Patrol agents shoot woman in Chicago as protesters confront immigration personnel reut.rs/46DCphj

Cue the empire soundtrack for the storm troopers from Star Wars. What a dystopian present that didn’t have to exist…

ice has brought far more violence to chicago than was there prior

People like teachers and doctors and nurses are expected to de-escalate tense situations every single day without throwing people on the ground.

@govpritzker.illinois.gov 37 and Kedzie, East Garfield, Illinois. This is assault.

Even if you support massive deportation operations, under no circumstances should ANYONE be ok with US citizens being forcibly removed from their homes and detained without explanation. This is a clear violation of their constitutional rights and should universally condemned.

I visited the apartment building ICE raided on Tuesday today. Story to come, but you can walk right in. Half of the apartments have no doors on them. Children's stuff abandoned in some flats. *Citizen* residents told me they were arrested and held for hours in zipties. This is America

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt

ICE is running around Chicago harassing people for not being white. Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States and now it’s commonplace. That’s not making America great again.

I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...

If you're interested in Paramount, CBS News, the Free Press, or the right-wing takeover of the media, please help spread this around and let's see if we can find out anything interesting :-)

Important to remember that stories about children killed by vaccine-preventable diseases when they're too young to be vaccinated are, beneath that, stories about the loss of herd immunity. This baby caught whooping cough from somebody. That somebody was probably old enough to be vaccinated.

Thirty years ago, a peace-loving Austrian theologian spoke to Peter Thiel about the apocalyptic theories of Carl Schmitt, the German legal theorist tapped by the Nazi's to justify Germany's slip from democracy to dictatorship. Those theories have been a roadmap for the billionaire ever since.

As community hospitals shut down, Trump and Republicans own it. As kids with cancer can’t get treatment, Trump and Republicans own it. As insurance premiums skyrocket, Trump and Republicans own it. They ripped away money for health care and handed it to billionaire CEOs.

Oh, that’s a good one.

"Jamal thought he was safe. He thought being in America would keep him safe. Jamal and I both thought that his working for a high-profile paper like the Washington Post would keep him safe. Maybe I thought I would be institutionally safe. We were wrong. Dead wrong."

A very timely take on the unedifying Riadh comedy fest, from a colleague of the journalist murdered by the regime there a few years back.

Well past time. Universities that teach history would be wise to heed its lessons.

Also known as extortion. The universities that were quick to negotiate now see where this is going. They may not care. The destruction of America’s crown jewel is well underway. Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Do you really think Open AI is worth half of all Microsoft or Apple?

Dartmouth one of 9 universities asked to sign accord that... 1. bans use of race/sex in hiring/admissions 2. freezes tuition for 5 years 3. caps int'l undergrad enrollment at 15% 4. "quell" grade inflation 5. employees can't express political views ...to get federal funding advantage

Nobody cares about the victims in the Dallas ICE shooting apparently. The first I've heard about one of them was on CNN today. He's fighting for his life in the hospital --- he was brought to the US when he was 13. He's 33 now. No criminal record. I just don't know what to say anymore.

# of paragraphs for news orgs to mention there's no discernable need to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon The Guardian: 1st paragraph BBC: 4th paragraph AP: 5th paragraph Time: 6th paragraph Politico: 8th paragraph NPR: 9th paragraph CNN: 10th paragraph NBC: 12th paragraph Fox News: never mentions

Hi, just a note— The local ICE/ERO agent directing his team to fire at reporters' faces in Chicago this morning has been threatening press since we showed up at immigration court in June. His agents shot us both at close range last week, too. None of this started today!

War-ravaged Portland

Donald Trump is using federal agents to stoke fear and violate constitutional rights — all with the aims of expanding his control and sending military troops to our cities. It’s unlawful and un-American. We must all stand up and speak out against fanning the flames of violence.

Watch out for the arugula!

Our white supremacists somehow are offended by expressions of empathy in honor of a victim of police violence and brutality.

So if you’re Drumpf, or one of the anti-democratic fascists that surround him, you now target multiple individuals simultaneously - to dizzy the media and population. Hard (and exhausting) to focus on one injustice, let alone ten injustices.

When Pam Bondi says "no one is above the law" in reference to Comey's indictment, she's telling us something - laws should protect Trump but punish his enemies. Laws should explicitly recognize in-groups & out-groups. And law enforcement should recognize that difference when enforcing the law.

We can thank the partisan SCOTUS judges for this. That’s the most significant difference between his first presidency and today. 4 Takeaways From Trump’s Securing of an Indictment Against Comey www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

Comey indictment