“Family separation is considered one of the biggest adversities that kids can experience,” according to Colleen Cicchetti, a pediatric psychologist at Lurie Children’s Hospital. Read: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

I'm late, but this from @sarahjeong.bsky.social is essential. And given my profession, so depressing. www.theverge.com/policy/84960...

Killing in the name of… nothing

On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up. But is still led to cuts that closed offices, canceled programs and deprived people of food, medicine and other aid. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...

Looking for the truth about what it was like inside CECOT? Earlier this year, we spoke to the men the Trump administration deported to El Salvador. Hear about what they endured, in their own words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8INs141xeQ

Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.

CBS didn't air the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but @propublica.org talked earlier this year to those who Trump had sent to the maximum-security prison in El Salvador: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8IN...

Sometimes the no comment is the entire story!

I'm sorry, but this doesn't make sense. And it seems like every effort was made to get the *principals* on the record. It should shock no one that they either ignored the requests or declined.

People really need to understand this. If you needed to get every single voice who can speak on a topic to weigh in, 90% of stories would never run. ESPECIALLY if you're trying to get people to respond to anything negative. This doesn't just apply to investigations. Interns deal with this.

Reporter: We have 3 videos, 2 breathalyzers, 4 bartenders, and a minivan full of nuns attesting to how the driver was drunk and reckless when he hit the school bus. Weiss; What did the driver say. Reporter: He and his lawyer won’t talk. We asked them 5 times. Weiss: I’m killing your story.

In an interview with WBEZ radio, Anthony Vazquez talks about what it was like when he was in the middle of a tense standoff between federal agents and residents on the Southeast Side.

Again, from Michael Grynbaum, here is Sharyn Alfonsi's full email. It must be read:

Dammit. A lot of y'all hated season 2 of The Wire and you've always been wrong. And what Ransone brought to Ziggy was as essential as any other performance in that show. RIP. variety.com/2025/tv/obit...

Amid soaring starvation in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, one young mother of two said she had considered taking her own life to save her children, “because I heard the U.N. takes care of the kids when the parents are gone.”

I've been rewatching Game of Thrones, and I just made it to the final season. It's so depressing to see the writers room give up. No interest in the common folk. No interest in the magic of the world, despite the army of the dead marching on the country. Just callbacks to season 1 and dick jokes.

This is really solid investigative reporting from the Sun-Times. And a brutal expose of Greg Bovino, the cosplaying tough guy who has terrorized so many immigrants in Chicago. Read it all. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Pardon me, but *holy shit* chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Excellent piece

Greg Bovino's the star of Trump’s deportation show. We trace his roots. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... By me and @dmihalopoulos.bsky.social who traveled to both coasts to find out more.

Getting a very strong Guardians of the Galaxy vibe from this. Not a bad thing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqdA...

NOW: In a hearing about conditions at the ICE Broadview facility, DOJ lawyer Jana Brady insists, "Broadview is back to being just a processing center." "Nobody's staying overnight," she says. Lawyers who brought the case disagree and say there are up to 40 people there daily.

“Broken bones, abscesses, diabetes and a host of other injuries and maladies routinely go without examination, much less medically effective treatment,” according to one complaint. That's from just one suit @kwashburn.bsky.social read for this investigation. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Anyway, hi. It's me. Drinking egg nog and watching Die Hard, as is tradition.

Oh good. What does anyone who works in audio journalism -- talent, editors, engineers -- think about this?

I'm back on parental leave. So I'm hanging out with the baby and catching up on pop culture. I feel like more of the world should be watching Interview with the Vampire. The series is flawless, but y'all just wanna watch messy Mormons.

So it comes to this www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...

Follow along at 3 p.m. CT today www.reddit.com/r/chicago/co...

Amid the federal deportation campaign, Spanish-speaking mental health providers are creating therapy groups and community workshops while others offer yoga, meditation and other support.

Broadview conspiracy defendants want to see if White House played a role in their case From @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

I guess I need to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, if only because I want to understand how Silksong has next to no chance of besting it at the Game Awards

Dr. Carrie Soloway, the Chicago psychiatrist whose gender journey was the inspiration for the Amazon show “Transparent,” has died.

It sucks that Van Der Beek can't focus on his treatment and has to raise money for it. Also, go watch Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23. Underrated sitcom.

West Garfield Park residents are expected to live on average until 67 years old, compared to 87 in the Loop. This is the widest death gap in Chicago.

Hosting a man who (per the CIA) ordered the murder of a journalist, Trump berates a journalist who dares to "embarrass our guest" by asking about it and later threatens to take away her network's license for asking about Epstein files.

Broadview ICE facility population dwindling as feds shift focus from Chicago: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

There is entirely too much Paw Patrol

Don't be evil? "Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, and tell local cops whether to contact ICE about the person, while simultaneously removing apps designed to warn local communities about the presence of ICE officers..." www.404media.co/google-has-c...

Trump's Chicago deportation blitz has hinged on aggressive and forceful policing tactics: Shootings, takedowns, chokeholds, car chases, chemical munitions, etc. To get a better sense of the scope and the impact, we mapped incidents, spoke to those affected and analyzed policy. tinyurl.com/3nrkaw55

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Damn. Ugh. WTF. Sigh. talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/priva...

Oh...! futurism.com/artificial-i...

Kat Abughazaleh is sitting in a 10th floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse ahead of the arraignment of her in others in this case. Waiting on U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain.

Avondale neighbors are rallying to help a family buy an ADA van for 2 boys with special needs. blockclubchi.co/3WUgFbf

Apropos of nothing on a busy news day, but my brain is broken and I just want to post about Star Wars. I don't think Darth Vader was redeemed at the end of ROTJ. What's remarkable -- at least to me -- is that he was transformed, opening the possibility of redemption as a spirit one with the Force.

"What's the point of standards?"

While Border Patrol photographers snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’” Little Village is a famous Mexican-American enclave on Chicago's Southwest Side. Agents tear-gassed a Little Village street this weekend. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...

From @vanessalop.bsky.social: He worked hard to give me a home. ICE took his: How I lost my father to deportation chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...

Federal agents pepper-sprayed a 1-year-old in Cicero chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...