I can't get over how whiny Hamilton sounds.

“Despite the nearly 40% decrease in the number of people incarcerated in the Cook County Jail, the Cook County Department of Corrections budget has not seen a reduction that coincides with that change in responsibility.”

NEW — Rod Johnson will never forget federal agents zip-tying his hands behind his back. The night of the South Shore raid in Chicago, Johnson said he was detained for two hours. “I’m an American citizen with no warrants,” Johnson said. thetriibe.com/2025/10/sout...

Ultimately, it's impossible to set up a surveillance system and say it will only be used under specific circumstances and not used in others. Surveillance systems do one thing: survey. After that anyone with the login can use the collected data for whatever reason. www.404media.co/police-said-...

I'm convinced that part of the "men are less manly" panic comes from the fact that the world around you looks different when you are a literal child! It's the same reason many can't get over how much better things were during their childhood. You were a kid! Of course the world seemed different!

When I talk to people who don't do journalism/policy/law for a living, they often think that wrongful convictions are unavoidable. This is not true. They are a policy decision. A group of people made a choice, and a man spent 8 more years of his life behind bars because of it.

Those 34 years would have been 26 years if the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit had cleared Francisco Benitez instead of denying him in 2015. He's one of at least 21 people the group rejected who were later exonerated. You can read about it in my @injusticewatch.org series Denying Innocence.

Wild how quickly @danhinkel.bsky.social's article became relevant again.

As the meeting wraps up, Commissioner Degnen asks about Superintendent Leonard Dixon — whose presence at the facility we raised questions about. Deputy Superintendent William Steward says Dixon is present at the facility everyday, "boots on the ground." www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...

The Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Advisory Board meeting (so many words...) is underway at 69 W. Washington. On the agenda: updates on plans to "reimagine" the facility. I'll be live-tweeting so make sure to follow along 👇 @injusticewatch.org

🧵 A deep dive into guaranteed funding floors for three Chicago oversight agencies -- Office of Inspector General, Civilian Office of Police Accountability, and Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability -- found actual departmental budgets well short of the minimums.

If you’re a reader of @injusticewatch.org — whether you’ve long used our judicial election guides or you recently found us for the first time — please help us out by taking our audience survey. We want to know how we can better serve you. And you have a chance to win $100 and a custom portrait!

Having a budget floor helps ensure oversight agencies are funded well enough to do their jobs! As Geoffrey describes, the budgeting practices here lead to an "apples-to-oranges comparison of COPA’s budget plus fringe to 1% of CPD’s non-grant budget without fringe." CCPSA faces the same issue.

A thing I think it’s important for USians not in currently-occupied cities to grasp is that the normal and everyday goes on alongside the violent and unprecedented. In Chicago right now you can be forced off teargas-soaked streets in the morning and have a peaceful evening picnic on the lake.

Some context that I think gets lost by calling people here "protesters." Strictly true that they were protesting. But this was neighborhood. Almost all of it was people who came out of their houses and pleaded to stop using gas because there were kids in houses/yards in the blocks off Kedzie.

Chaos in Brighton Park. This is representative of the amount / direction of pepper and smoke sent into the neighborhood, in this case, for no reason I can discern other than because they were leaving. Feds had a clear path out in a different direction, and residents were vocal but not violent here.

NEWS: Trump is federalizing 300 National Guard troops in Illinois, Gov. Pritzker announced.

I'm just gonna say it, I don't think the Attorney General's current stated position -- that this is just good ol' crowd control and traffic safety operations, totally unrelated to helping ICE -- is sustainable.

In case you're wondering whether the TRUST Act will protect anyone: Border patrol just attacked press and protesters inside ISP's designated "free speech zone" and the state police reacted by immediately establishing a protective perimeter for the feds

When the rubber (bullets) meet the road, civilian controls like the TRUST Act mostly serve to demonstrate that civilian controls and oversight were always a fig leaf, and that the people with guns are gonna do what they want to do. This is, to put it mildly, deeply corrosive to the civil fabric.

Can a lawyer explain how local law enforcement setting up a perimeter around the Broadview facility to help facilitate detaining people doesn't violate the TRUST Act? Aren't they prohibited to "participate, support, or assist in any capacity with an immigration agent's enforcement operations"

PHOTOS: Local authorities to place barricades outside Broadview ICE facility to 'protect First Amendment rights' READ MORE HERE: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador. Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.

the cook county sheriff’s office and illinois state police announce they’re setting up a “temporary unified command” to “coordinate public safety efforts” outside the broadview ice detention center. this includes “designated areas” for protest along the sidewalk “to allow emergency vehicle access.”

Over 5000 people have gone through these nightmarish conditions so far this year.

They zip tied children.

Another grand history thread from John. I love these.

"Two sheriffs said they would not comply with the TRUST Act if ICE requested their assistance. One said he has already cooperated with ICE in violation of the state law." Complying with the TRUST Act isn't optional. It's the law! You're law enforcement! capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinoi...

The longer the silence the more emboldened others will feel to violate the TRUST Act. It is vital that the Attorney General act swiftly and investigate if/what violations have taken place.

Burke also essentially threw out Foxx's Brady list, specifically the "do not call" and "disclosure" lists Foxx's office maintained. This is a recipe for wrongful convictions. Absolutely essential reporting from @danhinkel.bsky.social

ON THE WEST SIDE OF CHICAGO. THIS AFTERNOON.

WGN reports that US Border Patrol has taken over security at Broadview. That would explain why the attacking agents seemed more organized last night.

It would seriously be hard to describe how much the crowd was NOT doing anything to warrant being attacked—not impeding anyone, not being violent, really not doing much of anything. At one point ICE just suddenly decided it was time to open the gates and unleash Hell.

Seven people were just released, greeted with cheers and hugs. @peoplesfabric.com is free.

ICE just chased everyone off the public road by the Broadview facility. They yelled for people to move and immediately began firing gas into the crowd, which included legal observers, press, and medics.

Last week, an agent snatched Steve Held’s reporter credentials and shot chemical weapons at him while he reported on the protests at Broadview. Tonight, federal agents detained him while he was reporting. We urge for his immediate release. @peoplesfabric.com @unraveledpress.com

@unraveledpress.com wrote this yesterday after one of their journalists got popped in the face by a pepper ball. tonight, federal agents detained the other journalist while he was doing his job.

NEW — Video posted to social media shows Unraveled Press co-founder Steve Held being detained by federal agents outside the Broadview immigration facility earlier this evening. A collection of Chicago newsrooms is calling for his immediate release. thetriibe.com/2025/09/chic...

Steve (@peoplesfabric.com), @unraveledpress.com, @thetriibe.com (and others with them) have been doing some of the most phenomenal coverage of ICE ops/protests in Chicago. They’ve had a journalist shot in the face w/ pepper balls and another detained for it. Journalism is not a crime. Free Steve.

Release journalist Steve Held.

CHOTINER: And you didn’t know this person - what did you call him again? CELEBRIMBOR GREATEST OF THE ELVEN SMITHS: Right, his name was Annatar but CHOTINER: And you taught him to create a ring harnessing all his malice and cruelty? CELEBRIMBOR: Well I mean I was deceived CHOTINER: So you’ve said

Run Away With Me is a banger.

Me after crashing out:

lmao what

NOT ICE: multiple reports floating around social media today purport to show ice activity when they actually show local police. if an agent's vest says "sheriff" or a local police department, it's not ice. also pay attention to badges. illinois police use stars, while federal agents use shields.

SAG-AFTRA Statement on the Suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-st...

She's now playing in the Open section of the latest tournament instead of the Women's, meaning she's choosing to face stronger opponents. She just got a major win against another GM, the HIGHEST RATED PLAYER IN AFRICA (Elo ~150 points above hers!) after SACRIFICING THE ROOK bsky.app/profile/fide...

BREAKING: Charles “Charlie” Beach has been elected as chief judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, unseating Timothy Evans. Evans held the position for a record 24 years.

September 2025 marks two years since Illinois implemented the Pretrial Fairness Act and ended money bail. Join us and some special guests on Tuesday, September 16th at 6pm for an online event marking this historic anniversary. Register here: forms.gle/Y1mHJuaxq6Wb...