Excited to host this conversation! Ever since I began reporting on the scandal at the UIC forensic toxicology lab my mind has been repeatedly blown by how little oversight exists over these kinds of labs. Whether you work in the courts or are interested in how the courts work this event is for you!

Has everyone known about packing cubes all along????

I wrote about the campaign to criminalize “organized retail theft” in this piece. It’s the only time I’ve written something where I felt like I was going crazy. Theft is already a crime! But retailers lied about the stats, the law, and the causes—they claim that MS-13 and Hezbollah are behind it.

personally I think it's a very big deal that the Canada bureau chief for the @nytimes.com — certainly one of the highest-paid journalists in the country — asked an unspecified "AI tool" what Poilievre said & published its AI-hallucinated quotes in her reporting.

Congrats to @mdoukmas.bsky.social and @danhinkel.bsky.social on taking home 1st and 2nd place in the Driehaus Awards for Investigative Reporting last night! I'm proud of the work our team @injusticewatch.org does to shed light on systemic failures in the court system.

Join us Wednesday, June 3, at Walls Turned Sideways for an informal conversation about certificates of innocence: what they are, why they matter, and how Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke is trying to make them harder to get. airtable.com/appxuo0SNj05...

I still cant get over this. How you steal somebody's life... (he was 28 years incarcerated for a crime he DID NOT commit) He gets out, gets a law degree. Runs for office.... WINS... and then they steal the job

20 years ago, Flor lost a job after trying to support immigrant workers in the 2006 march. This year, she brought her family to May Day. For her, the march has become something passed down and a way of refusing to disappear. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

New from my colleague @danhinkel.bsky.social - a close look at the campaign Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke is waging against exonerated people trying to escape the trauma and stigma and destitution brought on by wrongful conviction www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

Tonight in the ai reading group i was reminded of something that happened in 2006 after I dropped out of college, when I was living in a run-down old house next to jb alberto's in rogers park with a bunch of dudes. it was, as you can imagine, not clean.

anyway support your local indie press to learn about cool shit 15 months before it goes viral / becomes a hidden gem or whatever

This happens *a lot* to journalists at small regional papers—they’ve got boots on the ground, report on stuff first, and are routinely ignored when a big story breaks nationally. I lack the resources and network of the AP, so it’s confounding when something like this happens

Pretty frustrating that the New York Times is crediting AP with uncovering the existence of Aadam’s archive when I reported on it 15 months prior. chicagoreader.com/music/gossip...

Senior reporter Maya Dukmasova and visual reporter Verónica Martinez won the 2026 McElheny Award for “Fake Science, Faulty Methods, Misleading Testimony." Judges applauded the skillful storytelling, which “weaved impactful scenes with science, accountability, and human stories.” buff.ly/WlNcREA

This story is wild, been wondering about that mural for months. Thanks for answering all the questions @kerrycardoza.bsky.social !

WaPo website replaced search with AI and it's going great

An interesting and timely film screening at @mousearts.bsky.social on Monday night!

Hey fyi today's Local News Day, "a national day of action connecting people to local, independent, and trusted news sources." If you love @injusticewatch.org, if you use our #CheckYourJudges guide to vote, show us some love to keep powering these efforts! www.injusticewatch.org/donate/

If you are a Harvard Law student or know a Harvard Law student please DM me, need a small favor

Thinking about Fritz Kaegi's election loss today as another round of property taxes is due in Cook County. I looked back on this piece I wrote for @placesjournal.bsky.social in 2018. Historian @tracylsteffes.bsky.social already told us all this was gonna happen. placesjournal.org/article/chic...

📺 Tune in to WGN TV today at 6:30 p.m. to hear senior reporter Maya Dukmasova discuss her recent reporting on the Illinois Forensic Science Commission's statement about a now-shuttered toxicology lab at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Opening the veins of the American economy... I'd wager there's not a single person in this country who doesn't have an immigrant-owned small business in their lives. It's your food franchises, corner stores, gas stations, dry cleaners, daycares, groceries, car washes, liquor stores...

Community engagement manager Charles Preston won the 2026 Dr. Timuel D. Black Award for Civic Engagement. The award recognizes those who demonstrate "a commitment to elevating community narratives, engaging in active citizenship, and building a more fair and just society." Congratulations, Charles!

Tears of joy from finding a pack of pfas floss deep in a bathroom drawer

NEW: The Illinois General Assembly is considering a trio of bills that would amend the state’s property tax sale laws. Here’s what’s in the bills — and what additional reforms advocates say are needed. (w/ @raceandequityproject.org) www.injusticewatch.org/project/take...

An update on the UIC forensic lab scandal. A state commission tasked with monitoring crime labs has issued a scathing review of the university's "investigation" into the failures at the lab. The lab got people wrongfully convicted of DUI cannabis for years. www.injusticewatch.org/project/fore...

NEW: Three appointed judges were rejected by voters in the Cook County judicial primaries. www.injusticewatch.org/judges/judic...

I know you nerds need these live Cook County judicial election results! 2026primary.injusticewatch.org/results

If you're still confused about what a subcircuit is on the judicial portion of the Cook County ballot listen to this great piece @kellygarcia.bsky.social produced with @wbez.org's Marie Mendoza www.wbez.org/wbez-news/20... Don't forget to use the @injusticewatch.org guide to #CheckYourJudges today!

"I don’t know which of them are punishing their bodies with eating disorders. I do know one thing, though. This year, a whole slew of famous people have turned moments meant to celebrate their work into showcases for their achievements in thinness" Via Flaming Hydra

As of tonight, Chicago voters have cast 13.5% more early ballots than the total number of EVs in 2022. And there are still two days before the election! Hoping to see a strong turnout.

📺 Tune in to ABC 7 tomorrow (Sunday) at 8:20 a.m. to see senior reporter Maya Dukmasova discussing the significance of judicial elections and the primary’s field of candidates.

Our free weekly newsletter is the easiest way to stay up to date on where to find our Cook County judicial election guide — and to be the first to know about judicial election results. buff.ly/TbMrZcL

“footage captured some officers whispering to each other to avoid their words being captured by their body-worn camera footage while others were told to turn off the cameras…one officer telling another officer, while surveying the wreckage, “that’s why you don’t chase,” Northcutt told reporters.”

You all need to read this wild new piece from @cb-312.bsky.social, especially the housing nerds www.injusticewatch.org/project/take...

📻 Tune in to “Say More” on WBEZ 91.5 FM today at 10 a.m. to hear senior reporter @mdoukmas.bsky.social talking about our Cook County judicial election guide and taking your questions about judicial elections. www.wbez.org

2012 was the last year I lived without a smartphone. I am trying so hard to remember what it FELT like. Memories of that time are dominated by romantic dramas, pivotal travels, life-changing moments in classrooms. But what did it feel like to just be, not consuming something in every spare moment?

On tomorrow’s Say More, @maryldixon.bsky.social and I will have @mdoukmas.bsky.social on to talk about Injustice Watch’s judicial voting guide. And then, I’m 40 now and I need some advice. So call with wisdom at 10 on @wbez.org

We're a week out from the Illinois primary, and based on early voting, it's looking like it could be one of the strongest turnouts in a while. But as per usual, early voting varies a lot by ward. Also as per usual, Beverly and Mount Greenwood voters are hitting the polls early.

Join us today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Mouse Arts and Letters Club (555 W 31st St) in Bridgeport. The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary!

Hey here's a map of places around Cook County where you can pick up one of the 170,000 print copies of our #CheckYourJudges guide! Also see it in this month's @chicagoreader.com and a variety of other local community newspapers! www.injusticewatch.org/judges/judic...

I was in my 30s the first time I ever heard just a general explanation of the structure of the court system in Cook County and it was this @chihacknight.org presentation from @mdoukmas.bsky.social chihacknight.org/events/2024/...

Happening now in Chicago's federal plaza: A rally is underway in solidarity with trans people in Kansas whose drivers' licenses were suddenly invalidated last week, due to the enactment of a new state law that requires a person's gender on their license to match their assigned sex at birth.

Cook County’s chief judge is warning residents of an ongoing fraud scam in which victims are falsely told they must settle unpaid parking charges.

Hi Bluesky, we’re hard at work on an illustrated newsletter that brings our contributors’ lived experience journalism to life through art. Join the list to get the first issue in your inbox when it debuts. Link here ➡️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Deliveries continue! 🚗 Next week, we'll have a map available with pick-up locations across Cook County. Can't wait for a print copy of the judicial election guide? Check out the digital version here: buff.ly/6PNez5g

A heart-breaking story by @pamelacolloff.bsky.social about just how far criminalized survivors still have to go even when major legislative victories are won on their behalf. And this is a live issue in Cook County right now in the case of Keshia Golden www.propublica.org/article/okla...

There goes Spot Hero's unparalleled customer service

Chicago voter turnout in this midterm primary election is bananas. 10,163 ballots received as of last night. By contrast at this stage in 2022: 438 ballots received 2018: 186 ballots received