New: Here is my report on Waco judge Dianne Hensley's Friday lawsuit in which her lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell, says their goal is to get to SCOTUS to overturn Obergefell. www.chron.com/culture/arti...

Again, from Michael Grynbaum, here is Sharyn Alfonsi's full email. It must be read:

ICYMI, @chipmitchell1.bsky.social got the agents' body cam video from this tear gassing: "...the agent in bright green — the one who tossed the gas grenade — sounds unhappy that no one in his crew cleared the way earlier. 'I don’t know why the f--- I have to do that.'"

A longtime Chicago resident from Bulgaria died Monday while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Michigan detention facility.

"...you’d often hear whispers of 'La Migra,' but never too loud for fear it would show up in your home. La Migra was a first-generation immigrant child’s version of the bogeyman. La Migra didn’t lurk in dark corners — it showed up at your house and took your parents away." via @cindylu7.bsky.social

A sociologist who surveyed >100 young trans people and their parents after a UK puberty blocker ban is warning bans in Australia/New Zealand will lead to suicides. All are based in the Cass Review, which has "faced extensive peer-reviewed criticism for methodological problems," among other issues.

Oh, and if you wanna learn how to FOIA for body cam footage, check this out!

Last article from me for the year, talking about the legislative endeavors to reduce public access to body cam footage. I do not think body cams are the police misconduct panacea they were touted as, but diminishing access would be catastrophic.

With @transjournalists.org, we recently published this curated set of resources for covering issues that affect the trans community. 🧪

Illinois lawmakers and reform advocates are calling for stronger oversight of the state’s new prison health care provider following a Sun-Times report.

This announcement alone is going to kill people and we need to prepare for that

it's extremely strange to me that there was like, a six-ish year period where acceptance of trans people happened extremely rapidly and access to care expanded and now it's being pulled back even faster

A community-led campaign to build 2,000 new homes on the South and West sides was awarded a $10 million grant on Tuesday from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation.

Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol official who has led the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, returned to the Chicago area Tuesday morning in the city’s Southwest Side and western suburbs.

Scoop: Activists fighting to shut down operating wind energy facilities have now filed a lawsuit to force the government to heavily scrutinize eagle deaths from three projects in Wyoming. How? Through public records requests. Targeting wind farms via FOIA reviews. #greensky #energysky

The mother of Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in which she says her daughter’s partner Officer Carlos Baker was struggling to accept her decision to end their romantic relationship when he fatally shot her during a foot chase on June 5.

PHOTOS: Feds deploy tear gas in Elgin as hourslong standoff ends in man's arrest chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

In Elgin, ICE agents have been in a standoff with the community as they’re trying to arrest a man. Here’s an altercation between the feds and residents ending with arrest and pepper spray. Video from Sophia Peterson

According to survey data from the DOJ itself, incarcerated trans Americans experience sexual violence at more than 12x the rate of other incarcerated people. The plans outlined in the memo effectively greenlight discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people who are already disproportionately at risk.

BREAKING: Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans & intersex people, memo says. A DOJ memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) do not align with Trump’s Jan. 20 anti-trans executive order, @byadamrhodes.bsky.social reports.

Apply now for Windy City Times’ 2nd annual community journalism cohort Windy City Times is accepting applications for the second year of its paid community journalism course for anyone interested in storytelling for marginalized communities. Our Stories, Our Power is a 6-week course on telling…

reminder that as activity picks up in places like Twin Cities, Louisiana, Alabama etc, my @propublica.org colleagues & I are still investigating immigration enforcement I'm particularly interested in use-of-force & am still tracking the detention of citizens Reach out ⬇️ if you have info to share

Remembering those lost on the founding staff of Windy City Times, some who did not even make it to this early photo. World AIDS Day is to remember those we lost, the fights we had, and the fight we still have. Tonight at 7 p.m. at Women & Children First, I’m on panel w/ Rebecca Makkai and Viki Noe

Feels really significant that the Trump admin is making a concerted effort to force colleges to undo policies that made campus safe and accessible for trans people, because for so many trans people college is the first place they ever get to be themselves.

From @chicago.suntimes.com on the now-public body-cam footage that was relied upon by Judge Sara Ellis. H/t to @sophiesherry.bsky.social, Kade Heather, @vimiller.bsky.social @angelamassino.bsky.social and Kaitlin Washburn for taking on a holiday evidence drop: chicago.suntimes.com/public-safet...

today is the day that every pun-crazy police department social media manager *thrives*

The landlord received millions in federal rent subsidies while tenants complained about years of poor maintenance and deplorable conditions.

A Guantánamo detainee testified Monday that Chicago detective Richard Zuley tortured him, supporting a murder suspect's bid for a new trial based on coerced confession allegations.

Two California real estate investors own Indian Trails Apartments, a 180-unit subsidized complex on Chicago's South Side that has deteriorated significantly since their 2017 purchase, leaving residents without heat or maintenance.

Sister JoAnn Persch served with the Sisters of Mercy for 73 years. On Nov. 1, Sister JoAnn was among the delegation denied entry to the Broadview ICE facility when they attempted to bring Communion to those detained inside.

from @charlotteobserver.com: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...

Burke is allowing cops to directly file gun felony charges while the police department is run by a superintendent who, as a young officer, was implicated with three other cops in threatening to plant drugs on a man if he didn't bring them a gun. southsideweekly.com/chicago-poli...

In Illinois, 29 trans teens have died by suicide this year, per Trans Up Front, a trans youth advocacy group. Last year we lost four; six in 2023. “This administration is targeting our children, they’re trying to take the next generation… [But] we’re gonna be here forever. We’ve always been here.”

As the Trump administration continues its attacks on immigrants in the US, there are increasing signs that ICE is holding trans detainees under their dead names to make them harder to locate. This story brought to you by @evanurquhart.bsky.social

Federal appeals court puts release of hundreds of ICE detainees on hold From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Big day for the government moving to dismiss Midway Blitz-related federal assault cases.

NEW: Trump's DOJ sent a subpoena to a gender-affirming care clinic seeking information on patients, including minors, and its insurance billing practices. The clinic—which doesn't even take insurance—fought the demand in court and won. Read @garnethenderson.com in @autonomynews.co

BREAKING: The HHS has re-released a May document purporting to review the evidence in youth gender medicine. The re-release includes authors from SEGM and the Manhattan Institute. Read our story here: www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

#BREAKING The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed Judge Sara Ellis' preliminary injunction, which restricted the feds' use of force in Chicago. The appeals court says her order is "overbroad" but warns "do not overread today's order."

After commentator Megyn Kelly seemed to downplay the youth of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, former child actresses and current teenagers took to social media to express outrage. n.pr/4o6Vfmi

The recognition comes after a standout year for @jakewittich.bsky.social's career, which has included growing Windy City Times’ newsletter operation from the ground up, doubling down on in-depth LGBTQ+ reporting, and training others through Windy City Times’ inaugural community journalism cohort.

Broadview's mayor said “out-of-towners” had “chosen their fists" but video shows calm before cops grab Rev Michael Woolf from the crowd. “If they were willing to do that to clergy in broad daylight ... I can’t even imagine what they’re doing to our immigrant neighbors," said Rev Luke Harris-Ferree.

Chicago must borrow $283.3 million to cover the soaring cost of lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct — including wrongful convictions and improper pursuits — as part of the city’s 2026 budget, Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Trump's Chicago deportation blitz has hinged on aggressive and forceful policing tactics: Shootings, takedowns, chokeholds, car chases, chemical munitions, etc. To get a better sense of the scope and the impact, we mapped incidents, spoke to those affected and analyzed policy. tinyurl.com/3nrkaw55

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally has confirmed on the docket that the site visit at the ICE holding facility in Broadview went forward today. But there wasn't much for the public to see. @vimiller.bsky.social reports that attorneys were seen walking out, chatting and leaving.

Some excerpts that stood out to me from District Judge Jeff Cummings' order today, compelling the release of at least some people found to have been detained in violation of a prior consent decree limiting how and when federal immigration agents can carry out warrantless arrests.

A day care teacher was released from federal immigration custody just hours after a federal judge ruled her arrest last week “unlawful."

Chicago's Far South Side devolved into chaos when residents confronted Border Patrol agents who rammed a car to make an arrest. The feds ultimately used tear gas to flee, despite a Chicago police leader offering to clear a path and warning that cops didn't have gas masks. tinyurl.com/mt3sfh4j

A bond hearing for Diana Santillana Galeano is to be held by Nov. 18, answering an habeas petition. Her attorneys say the court “recognized that Diana and scores of others like her should not be in custody indefinitely… This is an important step on Diana’s path to returning home where she belongs.”

Trump’s campaign to quell dissent by deploying the American military to U.S. cities comes at an immense price.