So if I’m understanding today correctly, the world’s richest person Elon Musk, whom no one elected, is taking over federal payment systems and employee data while the federal employees who investigate and prosecute public corruption are being fired en masse.

This comments section is the first time I've felt even a shred of hope in eight days.

Schumer, Jeffries and Booker tweet in what I think of as “press release speak.” AOC posts on social media like a regular person who is pissed off. It can be hard to explain the distinction, but you know the difference when you see it

This was reported. A lot. Not just by @motherjones.com etc, but by the biggest outlets. The bigger question is: why didn’t people see/believe/care about that reporting. Stop blaming reporting entities for information ecosystem issues outside of their control. Also…subscribe to some stuff ffs.

Random pet peeve: people who murmur to themselves as they write. We’re in a courtroom! Read it back silently to yourself!

Fantastic analysis. www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/where-trum...

Judge John Coughenour (Reagan appointee) just temporarily blocked Trump's "blatantly unconstitutional" order to end birthright citizenship. "I've been on the bench for over four decades, & I can't remember another case where the question presented was this clear." www.law360.com/articles/228...

The IL AG issued guidance today to local law enforcement agencies in the wake of the Trump's immigration orders: “Civil immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government. State law does not grant local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal civil immigration laws."

A massive housing discrimination case was filed in Chicago this week alleging 165 real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords discriminated against low-income families using Section 8 vouchers. Undercover advocates contacted landlords by text to see if they complied w/ the IL Human Rights Act

“It’s concerning how many people rely on an app for most or all of their news consumption when random content creators aren’t reporters; they’re floating heads over a green screen misinterpreting stories written by actual journalists, if they’re bothering to cite original reporting at all.” 🎯🎯🎯

This is important analysis and a must-read to understand why young men in particular have shifted to the right

I wrote a brief appeal about why you should donate to the Chicago Reader to keep my newsroom afloat. Please donate if you can donorbox.org/save-the-chi...

I got rid of TikTok for good this past weekend and ended up reading two books. That isn’t a coincidence! I’m actually alarmed at how much of a habit it became for me, and how much I still had the instinct to open the app. I’ll miss the good parts of it, but I’m excited to get my attention span back

Also…hi! Like countless others I’ve moved over here because the hate and the doom scrolling got to be too much on X. I’m interested in legal and political news and will be posting updates from my courts beat. You’ll also probably get some Michigan State posting too, because go green forever

Locking in for three days of closing arguments in the biggest public corruption trial I’ve ever covered. Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan first faced jurors back in October. Soon, they’ll decide his fate.