My only quibble with @bethhawkins.bsky.social excellent summary is that not only did the mom unwittingly shoot herself in the foot, the system has quite wittingly not given a care about families who have the misfortune to arrive in Chicago in the second half or summer of every school year.

Anyway a great way to radicalize people is for them to realize that you just abandoned their chance at being able to access and afford health care because you didn’t like waiting in line at the airport.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once.

I know some folks like to show respect for veteran politicians, but I’m done with that. Dick Durbin has been useless in a job that could’ve been held by someone who actually understood the fascist threat. If you’re not built for the fight, get out of the fight. But don’t throw us to the dogs.

So every freelancer you know is going to lose their insurance or be bankrupted by premiums because Schumer is an invertebrate

watching my Obamacare premiums go from $422/month to $1455/month on the Senate floor right now.

My family has been without half our income for 40 days. It has been.. very hard. We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions. We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.

This is exactly what I was thinking. (And Schumer...and Durbin...and spinelessness)

Yep. I am sick to my stomach.

This is a bad deal, and the old way of doing things is clearly not working. We need new leaders in the Senate.

"We don't want people to go hungry or miss another paycheck. But we *are* okay with them dying a little more slowly, without healthcare." This is so bleak.

In a normal democracy, a total collapse of party leadership would result in an no-confidence vote and immediate snap elections to find leaders who can lead

The model of holding individual senators responsible is broken here. The retirees clearly agreed to take the fall. Which is why the nos should get no credit for voting no unless they move to oust Schumer

The coordinated nature of this—none are facing voters in 2026—means that either Schumer approved it or failed in his job as Senate Majority Leader to stop it. Dems voting "no" get zero credit until they demand a change in leadership. Schumer out as Leader, Durbin out as Whip.

Senators on the brink of retirement who lived full, wealthy lives and never feared the loss of their own healthcare voting for their constituents to die from their inability to afford the same is treasonous

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person. The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives. And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.

Here’s video of federal agents doing a drive by pepper spraying that hit a father and his one-year old on Saturday when the Feds were hitting Little Village and Cicero

I don't know what the Senate is going to do. But if they do in fact fold in exchange for nothing, they will be living up to past performance. To expect the Senate to carry out the will of the American people is to misunderstand why it was created in the first place.

Why has the government been closed at all if Senate Dems cave now? Didn't they say that they could not go along with throwing millions of people off health care? What's materially changed? A *promise* is not action. ALSO fascists lie and I've been told by some Senate Dems that the GOP is fascist.

Chicagoans never stop. I was just watching a live stream of a press conference held by community members in front of FBI headquarters. In the rain in the dark. Umbrellas at hand they are calling for the release of 6 people taken by ICE, 3 also arrested by CPD. They never stop fighting.

Pilsen Defense and Access & Foundation Chicago, two orgs in Pilsen, posted about what they say is an abduction of two teenage girls by CBP. If you go to the @foundationchicgo IG they have some live videos talking about it, outside the FBI field office now.

BREAKING: A federal judge finds the Trump admin "did not comply" with his order to fund SNAP benefits. Judge John McConnell has verbally ordered the admin to *fully fund* SNAP benefits for the month of November — by tomorrow.

NEW: Here is the written preliminary injunction order in the Chicago protesters/press case: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

new: at least 26 unhoused chicagoans have been abducted since the start of "operation midway blitz." the full scope of people disappeared is likely much larger but is obscured by heavy criminalization, social stigma, and fewer eyes and phones around to bear witness. via @katieprout.bsky.social

Ellis: Federal agents described a number of protestors as "professional agitators" based on their use of whistles, in part. "Describing neighborhood moms and rapid response groups as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are and how incredible their statements are."

To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.

Interesting comparative study of attendance patterns in OECD countries pre vs. post pandemic by @jakeanders.uk and colleagues! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Closing a school is hard. Faced with another charter school closure, Chicago's school board looks for ways to make the process better for displaced students and staff. This week's issue also includes an interview with West Englewood board member Angel Velez. board-rule.ghost.io/an-epic-batt...

Wow, huge credit to Katie and the rest of the nutrition team at @centeronbudget.bsky.social. USDA has now issued revised numbers because CBPP caught them either accidentally or intentionally making huge errors that would severely underfund SNAP, in direct violation of court orders.

Brad Lander is at the victory party and, folks, he has the custom one-of-one “GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE” shirt.

Mamdani cracks 1M votes, the first NYC mayor to do so since John Lindsay in 1969

Boo-yah!

thank you for the outpouring of support! those of us laid off from Teen Vogue yesterday are now sharing our GoFundMe to help us cover our emergency expenses now that we've lost our incomes, as we get back on our feet.

BREAKING: After ICE refuses to allow detained migrants to receive the Eucharist, Pope Leo calls on Trump and Vance to respect migrants‘ dignity and religious liberty. “They must allow ministers to assist with their needs. They've been separated from their families and no one knows what happens.”

What?!?

i have specific notes about Sendhil but for now, he definitely should try this entire message out citywide — maybe he'll even do a listening tour

Looks like Chicago Public Schools may have — at least momentarily — dealt with its eye-popping budget deficit. Also, with ICE haunting schools, is a return to virtual classes in order? No good options here, alas. Great @maureenkelleher.bsky.social Board Rule reporting.

Judge Orders Release Of Cancer Patient's Father Arrested By ICE, Citing No Criminal Record blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/30/j...

CPS students and a subset of board members are pushing for more access to virtual learning to keep students and families safe from ICE/CPB arrests and violence. Today's Board Rule reviews options on the table to protect families and salutes student activism. board-rule.ghost.io/board-meetin...

our reserves are cleared out and the high school drop off point is also cleared out people are staring down the choice to pay rent or eat food and are taking big risks to go to jobs we are also looking for diapers — specifically size 4, 5 and 6 please share!

Here's Judge Ellis' full order after yesterday's hearing, which includes one change: Bovino has to appear today (and every weekday) in court at 5:45 p.m. "to account for the security needs of the Dirksen Courthouse"

Of course they did...

In today's Board Rule, we meet Sendhil Revuluri, Chicago's first declared candidate for school board president. board-rule.ghost.io/q-a-with-sen...

"It feels illegal. This is not what we signed up to do."

Enough with the passive constructions. When authorities shoot people, say so. This New York Times headline could have easily said, “Coast Guard Police Shoot 2 People at Protest Site Outside Base in California.”

Food is not a luxury, it’s necessary for survival. Things will fall apart when folks can’t feed themselves or their families. Many don’t even know they won’t be receiving their SNAP. This is a systemic problem. We have to fix it together. We need to warn people. Scale up food donations. Prepare.

Food for thought.

North Side of Chicago today: “He was working, you bastards. Let him go!”