Massive thanks to Chicagoland officials Daniel Biss, Kim Stone, Derek Eder, and Jonathan Nieuwsma for joining us, and to Windfree Solar Cafe for hosting. ⭐️
Derek Eder
@derekeder.com
Civic tech builder in Chicago. Partner at DataMade, President Emeritus at Chi Hack Night & Oak Park Village Trustee. Entrepreneur, developer, civic technology leader, climate advocate and public servant. he/him
Insane new research. Scientists gave asthma patients free electric stoves to replace their gas stoves, then checked to see if symptoms improved. Not only did symptoms improve, ditching gas was *better than medicine.* Details in today's newsletter: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.
The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.
climatecoloredgoggles.com
The Oak Park Village Board voted 6-0 on my motion to draft a policy to end the practice of pretext police stops: pulling over drivers for non-safety related reasons like broken tail lights, missing registrations, or failing to properly use a turn signal www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/22/o...
Oak Park officials move toward restricting police stops for minor equipment infractions
Officials in Oak Park are eying a policy that would restrict police traffic stops related to vehicle equipment violations.
chicagotribune.com
See everyone tomorrow!
Run On Climate@runonclimate.bsky.social · 2w agoTomorrow is the day! 🌎 As part of Chicago Climate Week, join Run On Climate for Getting to Zero Emissions, a conversation on how local leaders can advance bold climate solutions and build zero-emission communities. Register here: luma.com/321hr681 🌿
Oak Park will have a vote on 7/28 to eliminate single family zoning. As I've done with other big issues, I've researched the topic thoroughly and done my best to explain it and my position: I'm in favor, as long as we also update our inclusionary housing ordinance. derekeder.com/blog/afforda...
What can we do about the affordability crisis in Oak Park?
As we discuss what the Village of Oak Park can do to address affordability, it is important to look at the big picture and understand what is ultimately driving this national crisis: rising inequality...
derekeder.com
Its not every day you get to hold an olympic medal. Congrats to Oak Park Olympic medalist Emery Lehman! www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/23/o...
Oak Park presents first ever Key to the Village to Olympic skater Emery Lehman
Emery Lehman, an Oak Park native, received the key to the village of Oak Park on Tuesday.
chicagotribune.com
New data for ilsolarmap.com In the last 3 months, an additional 892 MW of solar have been energized in Illinois, bringing the total to 6,557 MW. Despite the expiration of the 30% Clean Energy Tax Credit in 2025, solar projects continue to be deployed across the state at a record pace.
Tonight I'll be hosting @chihacknight.org ! We'll be hearing a presentation on data visualizations tracking the Artemis II moon mission. Tune in at 7pm CST! chihacknight.org/events/2026/...
Online: Building an Artemis Tracker - Chi Hack Night
On April 2nd, 2026, the Artemis II mission sent the first humans to orbit the moon since the Apollo missions. In a sea of constantly changing, polarizing and attention grabbing headlines, the four ast...
chihacknight.org
Join us online tonight at 7pm to hear from @derekeder.com! He’ll discuss what he’s learned in his first 10 months as a local legislator for the Village of Oak Park and how his Chi Hack Night and civic tech experience has prepared him and translated into policymaking. chihacknight.org/events/2026/...
Online: Life as a Local Legislator - Chi Hack Night
In June 2025, Derek Eder was appointed to be a Trustee for the Village of Oak Park, a suburb west of Chicago with 54,000 residents known for being ethnically diverse and socially liberal. Derek will t...
chihacknight.org
As of Sunday night, 162,769 ballots have been counted for the early vote and vote by mail in Chicago. Early vote is pacing +64% above 2022 and +53% ahead of 2018. Turnout already exceeds 17% in the 47th & 48th wards! michaelmclean.me/chicago-earl... Source: FOIA
DataMade is hiring a junior developer! $81K | 35h/week | good benefits | remote, but must be based in Chicagoland Apply by Mar 27! datamade.us/blog/hiring/...
Join the DataMade team! | DataMade
Do you want to build mission-driven technology? Do you want to engineer fresh ideas about civic tech? Do you want to extract meaningful insights from data? We’re looking for a full-time, Chicago-based...
datamade.us
When Greg Bovino and his agents left Chicago, the reprieve came with a warning: They might return fourfold in March. It's March. And Trump has fired Kristi Noem, instead. On the lookout for a second surge, w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social and @sophiesherry.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
Another large-scale deportation blitz hasn’t materialized in Chicago, despite warning of a spring surge
A lot has changed since a source told the Chicago Sun-Times 1,000 agents could return this month. But immigration enforcement remains a key pillar of Trump’s second term, and ICE continues to hire and...
chicago.suntimes.com
Why I'm supporting Kina Collins for IL 7th District derekeder.com/blog/endorsi...
Why I'm supporting Kina Collins for IL 7th District
At a time when Congress seems unwilling or unable to act to reign in the tyrannical Trump Administration, we have an opportunity to send someone to Congress who will not only represent us and fight fo...
derekeder.com
Final EIA-860 is out, and 2025 really did it: 54 GW of new U.S. electric capacity, 96% clean. Solar again carries the offense, and we built more storage in 2025 than the cumulative total through 2023. More and more and more additions... but also record low retirements.
Stop what you’re doing and read this piece, which is as powerful as you’d expect from @adamserwer.bsky.social witnessing the events of last week on the ground in Minnesota. “The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone.”
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
theatlantic.com
To delete your TikTok account without agreeing to the new TOS: 1) put your phone in airplane mode 2) open TikTok and go to your profile 3) go to settings and scroll down to delete account 4) turn airplane mode off 5) delete your account Credit to @ kimsaira on instagram for this
WIRED@wired.com · 6mo agoAccording to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US. www.wired.com/story/tiktok...
I'm honored to be a host for a fundraiser to support @brianstraw.bsky.social's legal defense. Brian is one of six co-defendants facing federal charges for peaceful protest at Broadview, and his fight for the First Amendment has national implications. Any contribution helps and I hope you'll join me!
Donate to Brian Straw's Legal Defense!
As you know, Brian Straw is currently facing down the federal government over charges that threaten our collective rights to free speech and assembly. He is battling these charges for the same rea...
secure.actblue.com
For those of you following along, I joined the Oak Park Village Board last year. Here's the big votes I took in 2025, what what I expect to see this year. derekeder.com/blog/my-big-...
My big votes in 2025 as an Oak Park Village Trustee
On June 17, 2025, I joined the Oak Park Village Board as a Trustee. Because this was my first time as a legislator of a municipality, the first few weeks felt like a whirlwind, of orienting myself to ...
derekeder.com
Oh my gosh you guys! The House just passed my bill to extend the health care tax credits for three more years!
#BREAKING The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with the State of Illinois on National Guard deployment. Under the law invoked by President Trump, he must be unable "with the regular military" to "execute the laws of the United States," it finds. Full ruling here: cst.brightspotcdn.com/80/88/05a75e...
![SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
_________________
No. 25A443 _________________
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL. v. ILLINOIS, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY [December 23, 2025]
Federal immigration-enforcement efforts have encoun- tered significant resistance, as well as some violence, in Chicago. According to the Government, federal officers have been obstructed, threatened, and assaulted as they at- tempt to perform their duties. The Government also alleges that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, has been the site of frequent and sometimes violent protests, damaging federal property and threatening the safety of federal officers. These at- tacks, the Government says, have greatly impeded its ef- forts to enforce the immigration laws.
On October 4, 2025, the President called 300 members of the Illinois National Guard into active federal service to protect federal personnel and property in Illinois, particu- larly in and around Chicago. The following day, members of the Texas National Guard were also federalized and sent to Chicago. In calling forth the Guard, the President relied on 10 U. S. C. §12406(3), which empowers him to federalize members of the Guard if he is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.”
The United States District Court for the Northern Dis- trict of Illinois entered a temporary restraining order bar- ring the federalization and deployment of the Guard in Illi- nois. The Seventh Circuit denied in relevant part the Government’s motion for a stay, permitting the Guard to](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:elipdmmf5istuvtyituspske/bafkreigkgum5sfni47efippr7j6ykofa7anuo6cqpkfjztkzkfnvubdafe)
![remain federalized within Illinois but maintaining the bar on deployment.
The Government asked this Court to stay the District Court’s order. After the response and reply were filed, JUSTICE BARRETT referred the application to the Court. We directed the parties to file supplemental letter briefs on an issue that the District Court had addressed but the parties’ initial briefs had not: the meaning of the term “regular forces” in §12406(3). In its supplemental brief, the Govern- ment argues that the term refers to civilian law enforce- ment officers, such as those employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Federal Protective Service. Respondents, echoing the District Court, maintain that the term refers to the regular forces of the United States mili- tary.
We conclude that the term “regular forces” in §12406(3) likely refers to the regular forces of the United States mili- tary. This interpretation means that to call the Guard into active federal service under §12406(3), the President must be “unable” with the regular military “to execute the laws of the United States.” Because the statute requires an assess- ment of the military’s ability to execute the laws, it likely applies only where the military could legally execute the laws. Such circumstances are exceptional: Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the military is prohibited from “execut[ing] the laws” “except in cases and under circumstances ex- pressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress.” 18 U. S. C. §1385. So before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the reg- ular military and must be “unable” with those forces to per- form that function.
At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois. The President has not in- voked a statute that provides an exception to the Posse](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:elipdmmf5istuvtyituspske/bafkreico7h4hdwfyr6byznbn2d7y2wuhraae6jhvupnyew5s7kwjegnpva)
![Comitatus Act. Instead, he relies on inherent constitu- tional authority that, according to the Government, allows him to use the military to protect federal personnel and property. But the Government also claims—consistent with the longstanding view of the Executive Branch—that performing such protective functions does not constitute “execut[ing] the laws” within the meaning of the Posse Comitatus Act. See Supp. Letter Reply Brief for Applicants 8; 1 Supp. Op. OLC 343, n. 1 (1971) (collecting sources). If that is correct, it is hard to see how performing those func- tions could constitute “execut[ing] the laws” under §12406(3). See Azar v. Allina Health Services, 587 U. S. 566, 574 (2019) (“This Court does not lightly assume that Congress silently attaches different meanings to the same term in the same or related statutes”). Thus, at least in this posture, the Government has not carried its burden to show that §12406(3) permits the President to federalize the Guard in the exercise of inherent authority to protect fed- eral personnel and property in Illinois. We need not and do not address the reviewability of findings made by the Pres- ident under §12406(3) or any other statute.
The application for stay is denied.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:elipdmmf5istuvtyituspske/bafkreigpypa435od2mqkxeftymwgbg2uepclp6razy2u5gc3efakb7v2kq)
So cool to see our investigation on @crainschicago.bsky.social's front page today: @injusticewatch.org www.chicagobusiness.com
A large CBP presence is back in Chicago this morning, with sightings and arrests reported across the southwest side and Cicero. Bovino is also here.
New feature is up: The Cameras Tracking You Are A Security Nightmare youtu.be/uB0gr7Fh6lY
The Cameras Tracking You Are A Security Nightmare
YouTube video by Benn Jordan
youtu.be
By 2029, Illinois will have over 10 gigawatts of solar installed. See where energized and planned solar projects will be on the IL Solar Map! ilsolarmap.com/update/future
Energized + Planned Map - Illinois Solar Map
By request from our friends at the IL Clean Jobs Coalition, we have added a new view to the Illinois Solar Map. You can now see both Energized and Planned solar projects in the same map, giving you a ...
ilsolarmap.com
NEWS: Internal Homeland Security documents on 600+ detainees to be released prove that the vast majority of immigrants detained in Chicago area are "low" public safety risk, even by the government's loose standards. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/o...
Only 2.5% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories, DOJ records show
Meanwhile, the other 598 people on the list had no listed criminal history at all.
chicagotribune.com
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
Tear gas, car crashes, rubber bullets: Risky tactics have driven Trump’s Chicago deportation ‘blitz’
Law enforcement experts say federal agents have displayed a lack of training and restraint. “They’re out of control,” ex-police Supt. Garry McCarthy says.
tinyurl.com
New: Google has chosen a side in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Google is hosting a CBP facial recognition app to hunt immigrants; no indication Google will remove. At same time Google takes down apps for reporting ICE sightings “Big tech has made their choice” www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable gr...
404media.co