This is the perfect example of a public service that lots of people value and where it's possible to build capacity in a pretty obvious way at a very reasonable cost.

Block Club Chicago@blockclubchi.bsky.social · 9h ago

Thousands of books are piling up in Chicago libraries due to staffing shortage. blockclubchi.co/3TFy5Kj

An awesome thing to celebrate is that Juliana Stratton, Abdul El-Sayed, and Donavan McKinney have all pledged to work on ending caste discrimination through the IL Nonviolence Pledge and @sacreddemocracy.bsky.social endorsement process.

What did you miss tonight? Bolts' elections guide has been updated with the final results of dozens of elections that took place on Tuesday — even as you wait for the final result in Michigan. Here: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

Bring it all to the surface: The mayor “is seeking $20 million for child care this year, and money doesn’t come from a mailing list. It comes from people who pick up the phone,” said Jessica Walker, CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. “He’s just let go of the people who pick up the phone.”

The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 21h ago

New York City’s business elites are long accustomed to direct access to City Hall, where even Democratic mayors felt the need to court the city’s wealthiest and most influential corporate leaders. That access is getting shredded by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

One of the wildest things about this is that Virginia is home to the 2nd highest number of active-duty members of the military (after California). In 2024, the DoD estimated that 1 in 10 active duty military members was assigned to a service location in Virginia.

Democracy Docket@democracydocket.com · 13h ago

🏛️ TODAY: Republicans in Virginia want to disenfranchise overseas voters. A state court will hold a hearing on whether to dismiss the RNC’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of allowing overseas U.S. citizens to vote in Virginia elections.

If you think this stuff is cool Lil Sis is running its amazing Research Tools for Organizers series again. Sign up!

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Research Tools for Organizers 2026. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

We are living in an age of billionaire power and corporate authoritarianism. Research into the relationships between powerful people, corporations, and institutions – aka power research – is essential...

us06web.zoom.us

The big story is that Black newspapers gave a lot of coverage to worker struggles and struggles against austerity throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and treated the attacks on public unions in 2011 as an issue important to Black people, as well as covering the later Occupy protests. 2/1

For context on these numbers Stevens and El-Sayed had roughly $27M in their Senat campaign committees as of mid July federal reporting. AIPACs Super PAC spent more than both candidates raised combined, most of it in the 8 weeks leading up to the primary.

Jodi Jacobson@jljacobson.bsky.social · 21h ago

Half of the $62 million spent by outside groups in Michigan spent to support Stevens came from AIPAC.

And also some reporting on Haley Stevens' campaign finances along with some thoughts about why people don't like it when elected officials are supported by donors whose interests are not aligned with what constituents want (Iran War edition)

Denali@denali.bsky.social · 6d ago

Yesterday SACRED ACTS shared some campaign finance analysis about MI-13 incumbent Shri Thanedar. Today we' sharing "Haley Will Take Money from Anyone" and as the title suggests it builds on the work we did earlier this year in the IL Senate primary about the finances of Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Re-upping some fun facts about Shri Thanedar and his campaign finances!

Denali@denali.bsky.social · last wk.

Yesterday, @sacreddemocracy.bsky.social released some campaign finance reporting on Congressman Shri Thanedar. Thanedar famously tried to impeach Trump but weirdly appears to be the choice for a group of MAGA donors who exemplify the way that campaign cash is undermining American democracy

The stuff you learn on election night, who wins and how much, is only part of the story of any election. For organizers who want to build on tonight's victories, get ready to dig into who showed up to vote and how to keep building a representative electorate.

The assessment of public services is whether the public benefit they produce is greater than the cost. There are lots of ways to measure benefits (and cost!) and the conversation around this stuff is so rich. Profit is one single narrow and not especially relevant measure and yet...

shawn@mulchy.bsky.social · yesterday

public services shouldn’t have to be profitable

public services shouldn’t have to be profitable

Husband said that earlier today 8 year old casually mentioned "President Johnson and his wife Larry Bird." Incredible work, kid.

Also if you know me IRL you can probably guess why this absolutely infuriates me

Amira: AI for Teachers and Educators

The only AI learning agent designed to achieve reading growth and curriculum coherence for all readers through the synergy of AI and neuroscience.

amiralearning.com

@ilfps.bsky.social has put together some great info and recommendations about AI/ed tech in schools. I spent a long time doing compliance work on human subjects research and you could drive a truck through the FERPA carve out around vendor services. this is far from the only privacy and safety risk

Illinois Families for Public Schools@ilfps.bsky.social · 2d ago

Prioritize kids over computers! We’re calling on Chicago School Board candidates to commit to a "Pledge to Protect Human-Centered Education”—22 have signed on so far. Full Pledge, candidates who have committed, and why we must protect human-centered education in CPS: www.ilfps.org/pledge_prote...

I have 22 boxes of diapers in my car right now and if you want to give stuff or money to mutual aid groups in Chicago you can do that directly. Here's a good list. If you're like me and cant always buy stuff, you can still help get them to some of the many people in this world who have butts.

The Guide to Mutual Aid in Chicago – Resources – Borderless Magazine NFP

The Guide to Mutual Aid in Chicago – Resources – Borderless Magazine NFP

borderlessmag.org

Exclusive: We obtained a leaked playbook that Flock gives to cops to coach them on "how to speak to city council" to avoid getting their contracts canceled. Includes strategies like "own the narrative" by talking to mayor "before public comment periods" www.404media.co/own-the-narr...

‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech

"This document shows a coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent their interests as a company rather than the interests of co...

404media.co

Two other thoughts 1. I think people may take out anger about broader changes in economy and corporate behavior on local government because it's an accessible outlet and they may not spend much time thinking about what powers it actually does/does not have.

Denali@denali.bsky.social · 2d ago

I want to talk more about this kind of messaging bc I think it's going to be very popular: "I will ask you to use your success to help lift up others, so that they can also achieve the American Dream. But, I’ll only do so after I’ve proven that the city will run efficiently.”

Asking voters to decide on the efficiency of govt spending doesn't work bc we can't expect people to know all the details of how everything works and not particularly responsible to pretend like we can. Everytime I walk by the firehouse I see a lot of guys just standing around (this is a joke)

I want to talk more about this kind of messaging bc I think it's going to be very popular: "I will ask you to use your success to help lift up others, so that they can also achieve the American Dream. But, I’ll only do so after I’ve proven that the city will run efficiently.”

Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois' Secretary Of State, Enters Chicago Mayor's Race

Long rumored to be eyeing a run for City Hall, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced Sunday that he's jumping into the mayor's race. Giannoulias has amassed a massive political war c...

blockclubchicago.org

You'll likely know @tomhumberstone.com from various things (his comic on the Luddites went large), but he's got a new one on the Gig Economy, couriers, the history of all that, specifics of exploitations and the fight against that. Read it, and spread it around. Strong. tomhumberstone.com/just-work

Just Work | Tom Humberstone

Just Work

tomhumberstone.com

Kid just found out about the electoral college. Maybe if I pretend to be asleep we won't have to talk about it.

So, I really hope I get to tell this story in longer form in the near future, but it it’s burning a hole inside me. Most of it comes from an interview with Bob Hirst this weekend. Bob has been Exec Editor of the Mark Twain Project for 47 years, before which he was part of its staff for ~15. 1/16

The first deadline to apply for Wild Ramp Publishing's Chicago Civic Mini-Zine Microgrants is August 15! We're offering three $50 printing grants to support one-sheet mini-zines about Chicago civic information. If you've been thinking about applying, now's the time! tinyurl.com/ChiCivicZine

Wrote this in November. Sadly, feels as relevant as ever The bodies we probably most obsess about — other than our own — are those we see on screen. It’s hard not to respond this way. A fundamental nature of TV and film is that it asks, no demands, that you look.

The state of Hollywood bodies

Celebrities are human beings. But they are also selling us something. Right now, that's thinness.

buttondown.com

I'm not being a gotcha weirdo but what does Alexi G mean by demand universal Pre-K and what does he think the Mayors role in this is. Total real question.

It's James Baldwin's birthday. Do something amazing today.

Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 3d ago

#OtD 2 Aug 1924 James Baldwin, gay African-American author and social critic was born. During the civil rights movement he played an active role in fighting racism, encouraging civil disobedience and taking part in demonstrations stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9166...

Another piece of this that's great: "The kinship vocabulary therefore functions both as a referential system for relatives and as a productive set of forms of address that locate everyone, related or not, within a familial frame." Basically, what if a rich tapestry and universal expanse of "bro"?

Denali@denali.bsky.social · 4d ago

I think English needs a richer lexicon around family. My dad is Bengali and they have words for all this stuff and more.

On our way home from dinner with some of our in laws and I had to pull this chart up bc husband always forgets how this works and we have so much Catholic family math, which is why we were looking for a way to explain first cousins once removed to the kids.