It's simple — @propublica.org workers should not be replaced by artificial intelligence. Our contract proposal specifically says that generative artificial intelligence ("GAI") should not be used to replace employees. Management struck out this entire section in their response to our proposal.

This isn’t just about individual scams but also about a system so confusing and inaccessible that people feel they have no choice but to trust anyone promising a path forward. And reporting fraud is just as complicated.

What this means in practice is that Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and nationals of 16 other countries now will be unable to acquire ANY immigration benefit during until the USCIS Director lifts this hold — including people who were days away from become U.S. citizens.

I missed this story when it first came out but I’m so dismayed to see the proposal to cut CPL’s collections budget in half. I go to my neighborhood branch a few times a month and rely on the library for books, newspaper archives, magazine subscriptions and more (e.g., fishing poles!).

*hypnotizing you* You want our new socks 🌀

I really can't think of a better fit to lead the Reader. Such a huge win for such an important piece of the city's media landscape and culture!

A few months ago we sent a resource guide to 5,000 homeowners at risk of losing their homes to property tax foreclosure. Several wrote back saying they had no idea they were behind on taxes. That’s just one of several mailings we’ve done this year — your support lets us continue outreach like this.

One thing I like about Miami is you can walk into almost any cafe and get a cortadito made (correctly) with espumita

This story by @mdoukmas.bsky.social is not only a deeply reported, behind-the-scenes look at the man who’s steered Cook County’s courts for the last quarter century — it’s also a master class in profile writing. Make time to read it!

Most people running for Cook County judge seats in March are currently attorneys. Do you have experience working with them? Inform our next judicial election guide by sending your tips!

from a lovely event last month with Press Forward Chicago's Peer Learning Community (photos by Hannah Carroll)

Here's a closer look at the surveillance video at the center of the Kevin Walker trial. Read the full story: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...

Join us 11/18 at 1 p.m. ET for our 3rd annual webinar on the state of trans rights. 🏳️‍⚧️ We continue to face a wave of coordinated attacks from both state & federal levels. Tune in as we break down these fast-moving developments & what they mean for trans people. RSVP now: tinyurl.com/45tmvz56

Some screenshots from itp_chicago IG. You can see how federal agents stake their presence around some of these communities in intersections in the middle of traffic and sidewalks in front of businesses. This feels very particular to the SW Side with Little Village being a prime target for this.

Many homes in Santiago de Cuba were totally destroyed by Hurricane Melissa. The solidarity between the people of Guamá remains strong in the aftermath of the disaster. Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba during a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/we-lost-our-...

NEW: On Friday, a judge found a former Cook County youth jail employee not guilty on charges related to an incident that left a boy unconscious. The verdict highlights the challenges of holding detention center staff accountable for alleged abuse, advocates say. buff.ly/Isrf22P

BREAKING: Former Cook County juvenile jail employee Kevin Walker was found not guilty of aggravated battery and official misconduct Friday after a short bench trial before Judge Kenneth Wadas. Story to come.

The Kevin Walker trial has begun. Reporter Kelly Garcia is attending the trial and will provide updates during breaks. Cameras aren't allowed in court, but visual reporter Verónica Martinez is also present creating court sketches.

The White House plans to bar hospitals that treat transgender children and youth from getting any Medicare and Medicaid payments. The move would affect trans youth who have private insurance, too. n.pr/4qFa1mY

New: Videos show ICE/CBP agents are scanning peoples' faces on the street to verify citizenship. ICE has tool to instantly look up unprecedented number of databases with just a photo “I’m an American citizen so leave me alone” “Alright, we just got to verify that” www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...

I’m crying www.semafor.com/article/10/2...

NYT’s new “Watch” tab is its own in-app version of a Reels tab

Loved so many things about this story: the videos at the top, the contemporary and historical photos, the reporter’s observations from the West Fourth Street subway station. The video posted on Instagram for this story was also really great www.instagram.com/reel/DQME5Uu...

Print versions of our toolkit for Chicago renters are now available at every Chicago Public Library branch! Learn how to research building code violations and property ownership in Chicago and Cook County. Look for them in the free resources area near the library entrance.

Details of ICE actions in West Town yesterday are exhibitive of how unhinged they are. They broke the window of a car outside the Erie West Town Health Center & dragged a man out. His pregnant partner was inside the center. They also took a man delivering Amazon packages in the nhood too.

NEW: I found 17 sheriffs in Illinois that have contracts to detain people for ICE through U.S. Marshals Service contracts. IL law explicitly prohibits these types of intergovernmental service agreements. news.wttw.com/2025/10/22/d...

For last Friday's edition of @injusticewatch.org's newsletter, I wrote about the ban on most print mail in Illinois prisons and spoke with several people about the impact of the new rule. Read the newsletter in full here, and subscribe if you don't already! mailchi.mp/injusticewat...

We mailed a resource guide to more than 4,000 Cook County homeowners who are currently at risk of losing their homes through Illinois’ property tax sale system — considered by experts to be the “most abusive” in the nation. This wouldn't have been possible without your support. Thank you.

BREAKING from PP We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens* The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied: Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado www.propublica.org/article/immi... by @nicolefoy.bsky.social

new: for the @chicagoreader.com’s night issue, @djbyrnes1.bsky.social wrote about the trend of people getting released from the cook county jail increasingly late at night. between may 2020 and july 2025, more than twice as many people were released between 8 pm-5 am than between 5 am-8 pm.

NEWS: Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans issued an order today meant to prevent immigration arrests -- "civil arrest" -- for individuals attending court proceedings in Cook County.

Was just at a neighborhood school at dismissal. Hundreds of people with whistles surrounding the school and stationed down every block making sure ICE doesn’t snatch anyone. The same is happening at all the schools around here. I love my neighborhood and I love Chicago.

Judge rules federal agents can't deploy chemical irritants at journalists, protesters who don't pose threats From my colleagues @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...

BREAKING: A federal judge has partially blocked the Trump administration's efforts to mobilize the National Guard in Chicago. blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/j...

"I believe a durable, mutually agreed upon resolution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires what Trump’s plan sidelines: Palestinian self-determination."

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here. Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

Body-cam video contradicts Trump admin claim a #Chicago woman drove toward #BorderPatrol officers before one shot her 5 times, her lawyer says. "Do something, bitch," the officer said before pulling over & opening fire, the lawyer says. @davidstruett.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...

There’s a lot of urgent news to pay attention to right now, especially in Chicago. But if you have a few min and you do any of the following, please consider taking our survey: ♦️ Read IW investigations ♦️ Follow IW on social media ♦️ Subscribe to our newsletter ♦️ Use our judicial election guide

UPDATE: Gov. JB Pritzker says Texas National Guard expected to join troops from Illinois as deportations escalate. “We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion."

I've never seen such escalation and use of force toward ends I just could not see. There was no real property destruction, no pushing into the neighborhoods to make arrests, very little obstructing of traffic. Saw chemicals and bangs deployed down streets the feds were not facing and did not travel.

NEW — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker just announced today that “In the coming hours, the Trump Administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard.” This comes about a week after Pritzker first mentioned plans to deploy 100 troops. We wrote about that in the article below.

ICE reportedly opened fire on rapid responders on the southwest side this afternoon. There are *very few* details on this available at this time. Treat all rumors with caution until verified. This Sun-Times article cites a DHS statement that should be treated, as always, with extreme skepticism:

There’s no medical staff or services at Broadview. No food preparation. No beds. That’s all by design because the facility was created for holds less than 12 hours. @bylaurenfitz.bsky.social @adrianacardmag.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

We spent part of the day hearing the sounds of a helicopter overhead, later learning people outside the grocery store we go to were teargassed. The elementary school across the street from Rico Fresh had to withhold recess for the rest of the day. Absolutely insane.

An update from Jessie Fuentes

Federal agents handcuffed Humboldt Park Ald. Jessie Fuentes as she confronted them at a hospital. blockclubchi.co/3Wkje5V

Journalist Mario Guevara has been deported. He spent three-plus months in ICE custody after livestreaming a protest, before being flown out of the U.S. on Oct. 3. In a recent post, he wrote: “My dedication to my work cost me my freedom.”