Stephanie Kollmann
@slkollmann.bsky.social
law, policy, Illinoisances reputedly "promoting left-wing causes"
an interesting thing about being an attorney on here, vs others sharing professional expertise, is saying the least about the things one knows the most about
Also fun to know that there are significantly more people in the comms shop at CPD than in charge of moving thousands of books between 81 locations.
the @chicagoreader.com's august print issue is out this week and it's all about surveillance 📹 i often write about ai and drones and alprs. but the stories in this issue focus on the quieter, more subversive ways people in power have built a society for fascism to thrive. more in my staff note:
The quiet infrastructure of control - Chicago Reader
Staff note: August 2026 Surveillance issue
chicagoreader.com
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 · 7h agoThousands of books are piling up in Chicago libraries due to staffing shortage. blockclubchi.co/3TFy5Kj
Never forget that Mike Pence argued that smoking doesn't kill people
Mike Pence said smoking "doesn't kill" and faced criticism for his response to HIV. Now he's leading the coronavirus response
Pence has espoused false beliefs that are disproven with data easily found on U.S. government webpages.
cbsnews.com
Michael Hobbes@michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 6h agoI'm calling it: "Start smoking" is going to be mainstream MAHA / Republican health advice by 2028. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Police using Flock to warrantless follow people across state lines is an act incompatible with our legal system--especially in a country where many things are legal in some states in criminalized in the other. First we saw it with abortion care, now we will see it with marijuana.
Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed
"The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source state for marijuana as it is legal there," a probable cause justification reads.
404media.co
From Green Bay to Marinette, no less! I guess, unless you want your car searched, don't travel an hour
Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 6h agoNew: Police in Wisconsin used Flock to create a pretext to search a man's car for weed. Their justification? He drove from Wisconsin to Michigan, a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there,” and Flock showed he "travels to Michigan frequently." www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
New: Police in Wisconsin used Flock to create a pretext to search a man's car for weed. Their justification? He drove from Wisconsin to Michigan, a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there,” and Flock showed he "travels to Michigan frequently." www.404media.co/cops-used-fl...
Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed
"The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source state for marijuana as it is legal there," a probable cause justification reads.
404media.co
“The proposed award comes after legal service providers across the country have said that the administration has withheld $65 million in overdue fees from the previous contract, alleging it is an attempt to force them to turn over confidential information about the migrant children they represent.”
Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 7h ago“The Trump administration is set to award a multimillion-dollar contract to a small Texas law firm without immigration expertise to provide legal representation for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children in government custody during immigration proceedings.” abcnews.com/US/small-tex...
If there's one place you want to pitch a law enforcement self-investigation as sufficient with a straight face, it's Chicago 🤣 🛻🙃 (that's a judge falling off a turnip truck)
Jon Seidel@jonseidel.bsky.social · 9h agoNew overnight: Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office says the “Broadview Six” prosecutors have self-reported the events of the tainted prosecution to the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility as it argues against a special counsel. Full filing: cst.brightspotcdn.com/98/58/82c837...
They could always sign up to give comment at a public meeting.
The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 19h agoNew 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 year $150M contract to a small Texas firm that lacks immigration law experience
Politico@politico.com · 22h ago26-employee Texas law firm gets $150M to represent 24,000 children in immigration court
When I become mayor of Chicago, I promise to arrest 1000 more people for "selling ponchos without a permit"
Chicago Sun-Times@chicago.suntimes.com · yesterdayThe arrests were spread evenly across the first three days of the Grant Park festival, and there were slightly fewer than last year.
it really is wild that he accepts that the bar is as low as facilities being "survivable." a higher order of treatment (and again, still a really low bar)-- would be that the conditions protect and reflect the civil rights of incarcerated people.
Stephanie Kollmann@slkollmann.bsky.social · yesterdayI encourage every Illinoisan to read Gov. Pritzker's responses to @shannonheffernan.bsky.social excellent reporting about terrifying prison conditions.
1. This is our newest prison that was touted as a trauma-informed prison. There's no such thing. 2. In just 5 yrs, ppl are hurting themselves out of desperation. 3. New buildings can't change the culture of an institution. 4. Ppl serious abt safety know what works #DismantleChangeBuild #NoNewPrisons
Stephanie Kollmann@slkollmann.bsky.social · yesterdayI encourage every Illinoisan to read Gov. Pritzker's responses to @shannonheffernan.bsky.social excellent reporting about terrifying prison conditions.
New: Police are being told to hide the fact that they're using Flock to pull people over and arrest them in both encounters with citizens but ALSO in their official police reports: www.404media.co/do-not-menti...
‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock
“DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE. DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE IN YOUR REPORT OR COMPLAINT."
404media.co
I encourage every Illinoisan to read Gov. Pritzker's responses to @shannonheffernan.bsky.social excellent reporting about terrifying prison conditions.
Capitol Fax@capitolfax.bsky.social · yesterdayStop torturing mentally ill prisoners
This is agent #7880, who we've become quite familiar with in immigration court & other videos like this around the Chicago area. He was also the agent giving orders at Broadview on Sept 26 last year, when his agents shot my reporting partner in the face w/a pepperball.
Dave Byrnes@djbyrnes1.bsky.social · yesterdayYesterday prominent Chicagoland ICE observers shared video online depicting 2 federal agents approaching observers with weapons in hand, threatening arrest. The same video shows an agent using a vehicle to box in the observers' car, and another agent asking why the observers are blocking the road.
"If there's one thing about the wealthy people in the United States," Lopez explained, "it's that they are big whiny babies, and that they've got a lot of money to make sure that you hear all their issues that they have with anything that goes on." hellgatenyc.com/nyc-tenants-...
NYC Tenants React to Pied-à-Terrorism: 'I Think It Speaks to How Detached Rich People Are'
A few of the millions of New Yorkers who don't own a home weigh in on the controversy.
hellgatenyc.com
Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:
Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says
Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...
bloomberg.com
That said, worth recalling the former US Secretary of Education did profess that the Chicago Police Department would behave responsibly under the direction of zero tolerance evangelist Paul Vallas.
Well done to the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State's Attorney for working to make sure that people without permits avoid responsible gun disposal
Jim Daley@jimdaleywrites.bsky.social · yesterdayCook County SA Eileen O'Neill Burke's office is moving forward with prosecuting a violence-prevention volunteer who was arrested by CPD after he tried to turn in a gun at a police station. The man spent 7 months in Cook County Jail for his effort; trial begins next week.
Cook County SA Eileen O'Neill Burke's office is moving forward with prosecuting a violence-prevention volunteer who was arrested by CPD after he tried to turn in a gun at a police station. The man spent 7 months in Cook County Jail for his effort; trial begins next week.
Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls gun case against Chicago anti-violence volunteer a 'travesty'
Duncan runs Chicago CRED, which works to prevent shootings. He says volunteer Nakia Smith, arrested in a Far South Side police station in 2023, has been "fighting for the good." Smith, a convicted fel...
chicago.suntimes.com
one thing about data centers is that the issue is showing people in communities all over the country just how undemocratic/opaque their public bodies are. www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article...
“All of the speculation and hype around A.I. is hiding the fact that the technology isn’t just large language models or agents or data centers. It is the backbone of a superstructure that merges regressive politics with unchecked economic power in the guise of technological innovation.”
Opinion | Want to Fight Back Against Big Tech? Start Here. (Gift Article)
A.I. is a political theory. And it is gobbling up our democracy.
nytimes.com