If you want to see how much a single local official can change things, look no further than Chicago, where the new prosecutor this year has ground exonerations to a halt by hindering the work of the commission that reviews wrongful convictions boltsmag.org/chicago-cook...

Mississippi Masala—an impeccable, beautiful film, start to finish

Hello, would you like to read about capital subsidy and social housing daniel-kay-hertz.ghost.io/deep-v-shall...

Most of the internet used to be like this. This is actually the default, it took companies enclosing the internet and adding weird, soul-killing incentives to make people behave the way they do now. In a way, there is truly nothing special about Wikipedia except that it survived longer.

From Portland to Chicago to Philadelphia, transit agencies across the U.S. are facing existential peril. If you’re not already engaged in the fight to secure stable, robust, long-term funding for transit in your community then now’s the time to roll up your sleeves.

More details on tonight's elections in San Diego (and also St. Louis!)—and what we know of the results—in the article below. And also follow @boltsmag.org to make sure to stay on top of local elections happening in all corners!

Today is publication day for Liberation Stories. Cathy Cohen, @kumar.fyi, and I contributed a chapter to this volume: “Data for Liberation: the Role of Surveys in Social Movement Infrastructure.” (1/6)

This is good. It's not "anti-Abundance" but it favors a sort of equity-focused abundance. It gets at some of my concerns with the book/movement. (And please don't @ me with "abundance is always equitable" simplistic B.S., thank you.)

Great @chicagotribune.com op-ed from Richards (fmr @septaphilly.bsky.social GM). Promises of funding later do not pay the bills. We need public plan on specific $ sources to prevent cuts (better yet, expand service with more investment). Still relevant op-ed www.chicagotribune.com/2024/08/19/o...

Can't wait to chuckle at the people getting fleeced by this as I get on the CTA express buses that are lined up directly outside the United Center after every event. chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/03...

So it turns out good news still exists 🥹 chicago.suntimes.com/sports/2025/...

Hoping for some political will from city as we're about to see agency leadership change. CEO decision not the only major factor 4 CTA future but choice matters. Tumlin/SF & Clarke/DC have great reputations, but confident more amazing leaders (inc. beyond white men) flying more under national radar

Watching “The Night Agent” on Netflix. Good News: The VP’s daughter is enrolled in APD. Bad News: She skips APD to go shopping.

📣 Attention Chicago renters 📣 We’re hosting workshops over the next two months to teach you how to research building code violations and landlords using public records. Registration is required! https://buff.ly/4a51ZLY

One of the best things I’ve read in a while. www.nplusonemag.com/issue-49/ess...

This should've been the one 🥲

CDOT has a new Division of Planning and Policy, and they have a survey for you! webapps4.chicago.gov/eforms/cdotp...

New article with @kumar.fyi out today in the Cleveland State Law Review! Reflecting on the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, we reconsider the landmark ruling’s conception of dignitary harm in public education. engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/v... (1/6)

Fave team: Chicago Sky Fave player (current): Napheesa Fave player (all time): Allie Quigley 2nd fave team: Lynx Team you dislike: Sun Player you dislike: Sophie Favorite WNBA Bluesky follow: @anniecostabile.bsky.social Unpopular WNBA opinion: expanding roster sizes >>> adding teams

Chicago people: imagine if we did this on the Mag Mile or neighborhood commercial districts like Clark St in Andersonville

This is one of the best books you can read about racial politics, political parties, and political development in the US. I found it so compelling that I wrote a whole dissertation as a response/sequel to it.

Also worth noting: there was a competitive ballot referendum in 2020 (Fair Tax), while the only competitive races downballot in 2024 were school board, which a lot of people still don't know about.

We have a way to do this! It's called an RSS feed reader! I realize this argument has probably already been lost, but I will die on the hill that it is a terrible idea to fuse a social media feed and your news feed.

Chicago budget season!

Calling #polisky: check out this new article by Shai Karp on landlord power out at Politics & Society. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... This is the start of Shai's very exciting pipeline of research on the politics of rental housing in the United States—set your Google Scholar alerts!

These WNBA Finals have been so electric. Close games on top of great team stories, great individual stories, even matchups, and intriguing adjustments. It's everything you could want from a series!! Hoping for a Game 5 classic like 2016 🤞🏽 🏀

www.thenation.com/article/soci... Super excited to see this review of our book by Astra Taylor, who has been at the forefront of the revival of debtors activism in the US over the last decade.

It's great to see Smith and Ocasio-Cortez vocally back social housing. We have to put these ideas on the table and advance and develop them relentlessly, so that when windows of opportunity for policy change open, we are ready to act. www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/o...

A friend from Chicago sent this to me: her local branch of Chicago Public Library created an exhibition of left-behind water bottles titled "Thirst: An Exploration of Modern Dehydration," and it made her think of me. We've been friends for 40 years. She knows me well 🥰

Let's gooooooooooo

Hello MPSA and polisky folks! Come join our panel on the local politics of housing and municipal boundaries at 9:45am. Featuring excellent projects from @stephanieternullo.bsky.social, @joeornstein.bsky.social, and others!

The headlines and obits about Joe Lieberman's death are a fascinating reminder of the grip presidential elections have on our collective memory of politics. He was a Senator for 24 years and a longtime figure in state politics, but the topline is usually just "he almost became Vice President once."

RSS feeds are a far healthier way to consume news! I use Feedly but there are lots of good options. Pro tip: you can covert email newsletters to RSS feeds and gain even more control of your media diet. Feedly Pro has a built-in feature, or you can use this free service: kill-the-newsletter.com

PSA: There are approx. 109,000 unreturned mail ballots, which will be counted if postmarked (or dropped off) on Election Day & arrive by April 2. Should you wait for those ballots before drawing conclusions from a ward-by-ward or precinct-by-precinct analysis? Yes, yes you should.

New from me & @pamherd.bsky.social: how the US welfare state has evolved Good news: programs that have grown have become less burdensome. Bad news: there is greater inequality in the experience of burden. (Please support the non-Taylor Swift take industry) donmoynihan.substack.com/p/fewer-burd...

📃 New article from me, @mattnelsen.bsky.social, & Tom Ogorzalek! We use survey data to examine experiences of policing in gentrifying neighborhoods in Chicago. One takeaway: race-class inequalities built on spatial segregation are reproduced within n'hoods. journals.sagepub.com/eprint/HY78Y...

My newest article with @kumarr.bsky.social and Tom Ogorzalek—Experiences of Policing in Gentrifying Neighborhoods: Evidence From Chicago—is out today at Urban Affairs Review. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

For those who've had a chance to see Killers of the Flower Moon, this was a really compelling read alongside it: www.theringer.com/movies/2023/...

Look, neither of these movies was at the top of my most-anticipated list for the year, I'm just *thrilled* that my normie friends are down for a double feature