"Imagine if Congress was elected by Proportional Representation" Illinois’ 110-yr history with a form of PR resulted in more voter choice, more bipartisanship, less bitter polarization and better representation—a lesson for our troubled times. #DemocracySOS democracysos.substack.com/p/imagine-if...

rode the newly extended section of the @chicagocta.bsky.social 93 bus down california a few times in the past week, and it honestly felt like a xmas gift designed personally for meeeee (and my 3-y/o niece, who is equally obsessed)

Why has Portland been able to do what San Francisco can’t? Bc of years of "big tent" organizing by @pnwelcome.bsky.social @1000oregon.bsky.social + lots more. by @xianleonard.bsky.social for @sfchronicle.com

Big bad news. WA is the latest state the Trump admin is trying to force to keep burning coal. The Centralia, WA coal plant, the last in the state, should be shuttering in 2 weeks. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Hi hello yep this: Key Findings: Most voters... - Think global warming is affecting the cost of living - Oppose eliminating government programs on global warming - Support climate-friendly government policies From @yaleclimatecomm.bsky.social:

Trying to arrest the people who literally keep a roof over our heads. Also one of the most dangerous jobs in America www.bls.gov/charts/censu...

If you're wondering why @sightline.org is working to legalize the quirky housing type known as mobile dwelling units, please watch this presentation by @citizen-cate.bsky.social. Nothing beats MDUs for flexible, low-cost homes for people in all kinds of life situations. tvw.org/video/house-...

Q: What’s no taller than a grown tree and could actually get built this decade? A: Neighborhood-scale apartments.

sign me uuuup 🔥👠

🫠🫠🫠 "In the US, Chicago took the top spot with 112 hours lost, costing the typical driver $2,063 in lost time, and the city as a whole $7.5 billion"

"I AM A REVOLUTIONARY" mural in Garfield Park honoring Fred Hampton, Mark Clark and other Black Panther Party members. Hampton and Clark were killed when the Chicago Police sprayed Hampton's apartment with bullets in the pre-dawn hours of this day in 1969. Mural by Andre Trenier, 2020

love it. grow the tax base simply by letting the homes that chicagoans *need anyway* get built 🌇

😍

the discussion of the em dash alone 🤌🏻

😭😭 "The study suggests that crickets—and likely many other insects—cannot distinguish plastic from food."

Come hear my brilliant @sightline.org colleague @trufahey.bsky.social share new research on how to talk about parking reform! This Wednesday afternoon, 12/3, w @dpherriges.bsky.social @jamalraad.bsky.social @parkingreform.org

“… one of the things that immediately jumped off the page for me when I was reading your book is the fact that, by square footage, there is more housing for each car in this country than there is housing for each person.” www.npr.org/transcripts/...

Early Morning 📷Diana Popescu

On #GivingTuesday, there’s no better time to make a difference for the men and women who feed this country. act.seiu.org/a/givingtues...#GivingTuesday#WeFeedYou

Cool cool. Just the biggest purchase most ppl are making in their lives, depending on for retirement, etc.

Speaking of 'affordability'...

Can't say it enough: "The math is in, and the evidence is overwhelming: Plurality voting is broken. Ranked choice voting will not solve every democratic ailment, but it is a good step toward mending them." @us.theconversation.com

Oof, such a good read @sierraclub.org's Kristin Henry: “We win on the law. We win on the economics. But sometimes we lose on the politics.”

shoveling should be a strava activity

Yes YES plussss legalize more and smaller elevators!

Let’s email 🤓 Want to be first to view our latest research, hear directly from our program leads, or stay informed with our hand-picked news service? We’ve got you: sightline.org/newsletters

We don't talk enough about how permitting delays of transmission projects ends up on customers' utility bills. Lawsuits drag out projects, which end up getting built anyway, for more money + higher utility profits! New from @sightline.org www.sightline.org/2025/11/20/t...

"Juanito" shares, "I am an irrigator. Right now my job is to water the celery so it will be ready to harvest for Thanksgiving. It is thanks to us farm workers, and the hard work we do in the fields, the holiday produce which so many enjoy will be on our tables." #WeFeedYou

Illinois has few remaining wetlands. A Trump administration proposal could decimate what’s left.

Peep 📷 Keisuke Ikeda

Hell yea

Of all the major cities in the United States, Chicago provides the greatest value, with robust amenities and culture without correlated housing costs. But if Chicago wants to retain that status, some things need to change. op-ed by me, Stef, and Jasmine (co-leads for @abundanthousingil.bsky.social)

“Wherever we have these hot spots, these communities are not getting what they need. Yes, it’s the design, but it’s more than that. There’s bigger socioeconomic problems, lack of political power, recognition, those are consistent.”

'We talk endlessly about the “missing middle.” But the real catastrophe was the “banished bottom”' Good piece! I wish it mentioned that SROs are re-legalized in all multifamily zones in OR & WA substack.com/home/post/p-...

Donate money to a food bank or food pantry, then give your extra cans and boxes to a mutual aid org, love fridge, free pantry, etc. in your neighborhood. Money in formal channels takes advantage of scale, and whatever you can spare in informal channels reaches more neighbors.

i deeply love coworking at my local library a table away, a man in a suit tie etc. is enjoying occasional handfuls from a large ziploc of potato chips a toddler, tailed by dad, marvels volubly at the floor-to-ceiling blinds and my fresh holds await me downstairs

Notably, again, 1.18 million is the most number of households that have ever lived in Chicago--above 1.15 million, which was the previous peak in 1960. We bottomed out at 1.025 million in 2000.

oooh, 'bout to knock out half my holiday shopping...

next-level unhinged

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this video. I don’t know how we’ve gotten to the point where men in full balaclavas can abduct daycare teachers while they’re watching children. But I do know that this isn’t sustainable. Abolish ICE. There is no way to reform this.

@dannyoleksiuk.bsky.social writes for @sightline.org about the potential to bring back small lot apartment buildings. #singlestair code changes can unlock this option for the first time in a century. Let’s go! www.sightline.org/2025/10/28/t...

"The officers at the Coast Guard station did not appear to wear any agency or personal identification. They did not speak when asked to identify themselves, while one officer moved behind a bush as a Block Club reporter took photos and videos." Not at all concerning!

I'm hearing more & more about backyard homes on wheels legal in Portland, but probably not in your town mobile, lightning fast, dirt cheap www.msn.com/en-ca/money/...

We've said it before and we'll say it again: It’s not about the size of the apartment, but how you use it. @alexhrwtz.bsky.social analyzed the connection bw disappearing micro-apartments (SROs) and soaring homelessness @pewresearch.org

We used @sciam.bsky.social's 180th anniversary as an excuse to revisit an old favorite. Familiar with the efficiency of locomotion chart from the March 1973 issue? Here it is again, reimagined for 2025 by DTAN Studio, w/text by @parshallison.bsky.social 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

As a tenuous ceasefire takes hold in the Gaza Strip, an analysis of satellite imagery reveals 95 percent of cropland has been damaged in the course of the war.

Ald. Jessie Fuentes: “We have constitutional rights.” Unidentified federal agent, whose badge is not visible: "No." @wttw.bsky.social

all my chicago bike friends... let's? :))) www.axios.com/local/portla...

can you imagine if HUD were doing this instead of its website clownery?

they're coming for us at our bus stops, our homeless shelters, our school dropoffs and pickups if you're a neighbor who feels safe documenting these abductions, guidance courtesy of NW Side Rapid Response: