Lisa Kurian Philip
@lkpwrites.bsky.social
Covering racial inequity in higher education for WBEZ Chicago and Open Campus Media. I love making radio. Like, LOVE it.
Lisa Kurian Philip (lkpwrites.bsky.social) of WBEZ Chicago and Open Campus produced a multimedia public service journalism project on the college-going experiences of Chicago’s Black men. She explains how she did the story. ewa.org/issues/highe... #eduSKY #journalistSKY
What Prevents Black Men From Completing College?
Lisa Kurian Philip explains her reporting on the college experiences of Black men in Austin, a West Chicago neighborhood.
ewa.org
ICIRR is hosting a facebook live at 5:30pm today to help families following a court decision striking down in-state tuition for #undocumented students in #Illinois: www.facebook.com/ICIRR/ My story about the ruling: www.wbez.org/education/20...
Colleges scramble after court strikes down in-state tuition for Illinois undocumented students
The decision threatens college access for thousands of immigrant students. Illinois college officials want guidance from the state on what comes next.
wbez.org
"Why are we asking the people with the least power to figure out something? Don't ask these boys. Ask the people who can show up." Thank you, Cortez Watson Jr. of the Black Star Project, for setting me straight. @wbez.org @opencampus.org #college #chicago www.wbez.org/education/20...
Mentors can make the difference for young Black men in college. Here's how to be a good one.
Mentors, especially those who are Black and male-identifying, can help students with challenges like juggling work and class and finding community on campus.
wbez.org
Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/
“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility
Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...
propublica.org
My latest for @wbez.org and @opencampus.org about the painting over a trans flag with an alleged hate symbol and Northwestern University's decision not to intervene. www.wbez.org/education/20...
Trans students felt threatened by this symbol of the far right. Why didn’t Northwestern intervene?
Campus leaders say they don’t police “The Rock” unless the content poses an immediate threat or is profane. The decision has some questioning whom administrators see as worthy of protection.
wbez.org
“I think the best defense against an ICE officer potentially seizing your camera in a public space is other people recording that action and then being able to use that footage as evidence in court, when you sue them,” FPF's @trevortimm.bsky.social said.
How to Film ICE
Filming federal agents in public is legal, but avoiding a dangerous—even deadly—confrontation isn’t guaranteed. Here’s how to record ICE and CBP agents as safely as possible and have an impact.
wired.com
UPDATE — The Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is calling for the immediate release of Lemon and Fort, and for all charges against them to be withdrawn. thetriibe.com/2026/01/jour...
NABJ Chicago calls for the immediate release of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort arrested after filming Minnesota church protest • The TRiiBE
Journalism organizations condemn the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort as vindictive attacks on press freedom.
thetriibe.com
Big changes to college affordability are coming ⏰ New limits on student loans, repayment plans, and Pell Grants begin in 2026. ➡️ Visit edtrust.org for more. #HigherEd #StudentLoans #Educationpolicy
Memory is a fragile thing in this moment, so it is important to keep in mind that Hakeem Jeffries refused to whip his caucus against ICE funding earlier this week.
As Border Patrol immediately — and some would say reflexively — declares the latest killing in Minnesota to be a good shooting: A reminder that the bearer of the message — Cmdr. Greg Bovino — lied about why he lobbed tear gas in a Chicago neighborhood, per a U.S. judge www.wbez.org/immigration/...
Judge blasts Trump’s Chicago border ‘Blitz,’ extends curbs on use of force that ‘shocks the conscience’
Judge Sara Ellis said Trump's Justice Department lacks credibility, partly because of a lie told by U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.
wbez.org
Our reporting has found that ICE sent 600 immigrant kids to detention in federal shelters in 2025. A 17-year-old was detained at a traffic stop because officers couldn’t make contact with his dad, who is deaf. Another kid ended up in a shelter after making a wrong turn:
ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.
Under a zero tolerance policy, the first Trump administration separated immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. New data suggests separations are happening all over the count...
propub.li
Joe@joealv.bsky.social · 8mo agoHere’s the report from KARE. The boy is five-year-old Liam Ramos.
I wonder how #IL universities who have backed away from #DEI programs will respond. Will they reinstate initiatives? I'm thinking of the University of Illinois system, for instance, which in October banned the consideration of #race/#gender in scholarship decisions.
Jonathan Feingold@jpygold.bsky.social · 8mo agobravo @democracyforward.org & @aft.org. and shame on all the universities that dismantled their legally secure and morally just diversity, equity and inclusion programs becuase Trump sent them an angry letter. democracyforward.org/news/press-r...
🔴 "Government invasion into a reporter’s home and the seizure of journalistic materials is exactly the kind of scenario our First Amendment was conceived to protect against." Today, we joined over two dozen organizations in condemning the outrageous government invasion.
The #Trump administration is starting to seize people's pay to cover their defaulted student loans. More than 177,000 #IL residents are at risk. Here's how you can prevent this situation - or try to get out of it. @opencampus.org @wbez.org #studentdebt www.wbez.org/education/20...
What to know if you’re one of 170,000 people in Illinois behind on student loans
The Trump administration is resuming withholding wages from student loan borrowers in default. Here are some steps you can take to prevent that.
wbez.org
It has been a rollercoaster of a year, both personally and professionally (a 🧵). I went from attending my close college friend's memorial to reporting on Trump's attacks on programs that have helped people I love both go to college & feel like they belong there. (1/?) www.wbez.org/education/20...
UIC faculty and students fought for cultural centers. New federal guidance could take them away.
President Trump’s Education Department is threatening programs for diverse students. Experts say universities need to fight back.
wbez.org
“I haven’t been there through Pastor Brown’s whole life, but at least I know that he’s been through some things,” Gates said of Brown. “You have to go through … some type of trial in life to be able to show me that you’re worth that ‘mentor’ status.” www.wbez.org/education/20...
In Austin, Black mentors are making college possible
Black men in the West Side community face some of the biggest hurdles to getting a degree. Just 1 out of 4 who make it to college graduate in six years.
wbez.org
From @sammiesmylie.bsky.social at Chalkbeat: Illinois quietly changes scholarship for teachers of color amid lawsuit, threats from federal government www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025...
Lawsuit dismissed after Illinois opens teaching scholarship to all students, regardless of race
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law that replaces the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship, getting rid of the word “minority” and race and ethnicity eligibility requirements.
chalkbeat.org
"At least $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years, the bank calculates."
Reuters@reuters.com · 10mo agoBillionaires are inheriting record levels of wealth, UBS report finds reut.rs/3MFJWnW
Curious about how to access police body-cam video through public records? This new guide explains when recordings are eligible, how long they're kept and how to write a proper FOIA request. https://www.bettergov.org/2025/12/02/how-to-foia-for-body-camera-footage/
How to FOIA for Body Camera Footage
Under Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act, there is a presumption that government records are open to the public. Body cam footage is an anomaly. Its availability is dictated by the […]
bettergov.org
Rep. Delia Ramirez introduced the resolution criticizing the agency and is urging her party to take a firmer stance against the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
Democrats bring resolution condemning ICE treatment of pregnant, postpartum immigrants
Rep. Delia Ramirez introduced a resolution criticizing ICE and is urging her party to take a firmer stance against the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
19thnews.org
A U.S. postal worker on Long Island is accused of trying to help a man escape from ICE custody earlier this month, according to a federal criminal complaint: https://gothamist.visitlink.me/YNagDp
US postal worker charged with breaking man out of ICE custody on Long Island
Police arrested the worker and the man she tried to free.
gothamist.visitlink.me
Highlight of my week: Calling into @wbez.org's Say More to chat with Hari Kondabolu about how Indians really do f***ing love mangoes, what journalists can learn from comedians in these dark times and the most common mispronunciation of his name (Hasan Minhaj 😂) www.wbez.org/say-more-wit...
Hari Kondabolu: What’s So Funny about Chicago?
Comedian, writer and frequent ‘Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me’ guest Hari Kondabolu returns to Chicago to tape a new comedy special.
wbez.org
This week #IL students and faculty delivered stacks of postcards to the state higher education board asking for $25M meant for their public universities to be released. Their colleges have been squeezed by federal cuts, decreases in international students and decades of declining state funding.
Young people in #Chicago age 18-29 can apply to be part of a Civic Matchmaking program run by Chicago Votes and The Civic Success Project. More info here:
Stop what you're doing and read this piece by @vanessalop.bsky.social: "I carry the weight of his sacrifice while navigating the gaping hole left by his departure. I am the daughter who made it, who did better while knowing that “better” came with a cost." chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...
He worked hard to give me a home. ICE took his: How I lost my father to deportation
Deportation has taken away the father I once knew and given me back a person I no longer recognize.
chicago.suntimes.com
Our review of 700+ videos of the Portland protests shows a wide gap between the reality on the ground and the characterizations by Trump, Fox News and DHS, which said its office in the city was under “coordinated assault by violent groups.” By @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard
In the two months before Trump’s decision, criminal charges were announced against only three people. On nights when physical conflict did erupt, it often came from police firing on, shoving, pepper-s...
propublica.org
NEW: U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis is allowing the deposition of Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino to expand to FIVE hours (she'd limited it to 2), and she wants to hear about use of force by CBP in Little Village on Wednesday and Thursday. Plus a reminder to "preserve all body-worn camera footage."
Jon Seidel@jonseidel.bsky.social · 12mo agoJudge permits questioning of top Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino in lawsuit over treatment of protesters in Chicago From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
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...
Despite Illinois Sanctuary Laws, At Least 17 County Sheriffs Have Contracts to Hold People in ICE Custody
To ascertain if county jails are complying with the state’s TRUST Act, WTTW News sent Freedom of Information Act requests to each of the 90 county jails in Illinois to obtain copies of intergovernment...
news.wttw.com
