Yikes. Women accounted for all of the job losses and all of the labor force decline in July, according to @nwlc.org
Sofi LaLonde
@sofilalonde.bsky.social
Journalist & Audio Producer. Currently editing the Optimist Economy podcast. Previously at Vox.com & WBEZ. 📍Chicago. sofilalonde.com optimisteconomy.com
How will we know today what Social Security needs for the next 75 years? That is the challenge of reform, and one I tackle head on in this report. It's predicting the future from examining the past. My latest in partnership with @rooseveltinstitute.org rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
What the 1983 Social Security Reform Missed—and 2032 Must Get Right
Kathryn Anne Edwards explains how wage inequality and economic mismanagement weakened Social Security—and what the next reform must get right before 2032.
rooseveltinstitute.org
This anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, remember that many people with disabilities are paid below minimum wage and many can’t get married because they risk losing their SSI benefits. SSI recipients cannot have more than $2,000 in their bank account.
About 24% of U.S. employees stay in unwanted jobs just for health insurance, a report out Wednesday finds. Up significantly since 2021, the uptick in "job lock" is a concerning sign for the U.S. economy. n.pr/4gQIY5E
Staying in a job for the health insurance? About 1 in 4 Americans do, a survey says
About 24% of U.S. employees stay in unwanted jobs just for health insurance, a report out Wednesday finds. Up significantly since 2021, the uptick in "job lock" is a concerning sign for the U.S. economy.
n.pr
Who is Mr. Justin Time? And what tf is his deal with scheduling? Listen to find out! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
Mr. Justin Time Sets a Cruel Work Schedule
Podcast Episode · Optimist Economy · July 21 · 49m
podcasts.apple.com
It's a huge mistake for the U.S. government to close its National Archives facility in Chicago. Such a valuable resource for historians!
Chicago Collections@chicollections.bsky.social · last mo.Our access to historical records is directly affected by this closure. Thanks @chicagoarchivists.bsky.social for their attention to this. blockclubchicago.org/2026/07/06/c...
The outcome is thus: 5–4 that the Constitution protects birthright citizenship for the children of all immigrants. 6–3 that Trump's order is unlawful (because Kavanaugh says it violates a statute, NOT the 14th Amendment.) www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
🚨 Supreme Court strikes down Trump's order banning birthright citizenship: "Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the US and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause."
The Supreme Court's first decisions are the trans athlete cases. By a 6–3 vote, the court holds that Title IX and the equal protection clause do NOT stop states from excluding trans women and girls from female sports teams. The three liberals dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Editors, fact-checkers, designers and news assistants at the Minnesota Star Tribune are losing their jobs today. Anything you can donate to help our laid-off journalists is greatly appreciated. Can’t donate? Share this post to boost our efforts.
Support laid off Star Tribune workers! | Working Partnerships
Sign in to manage your activity, preferences, & tools.
workingpartnerships.betterworld.org
4. ICYMI: A wonky policy change by the Trump administration may spell the end of a wide swath of data from the Census Bureau, including key statistics used for redistricting, policymaking and research www.npr.org/2026/06/12/n...
A Trump push to cut 'statistical noise' could mean less data from the Census Bureau
New public data for redistricting and other uses may be reduced as Trump officials limit the ways the Census Bureau can protect people's privacy when it releases statistics.
npr.org
Should people who lose their job be judged, cast aside, given little help, and told to start over? Or should we choose a better economy that knows the unemployed have had hard luck but still deserve dignity and good jobs? I make my case, in a proverbial tiara: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The fired labor economist who couldn't get unemployment
Podcast Episode · The Indicator from Planet Money · June 8 · 9m
podcasts.apple.com
Have you ever noticed a peculiar line of text on your elevator's certificate of inspection? A line of text in ... Comic Sans? If you have, you aren't alone! I tracked down the answer to how this goofy font found its way onto an official city document. www.wbez.org/curious-city...
Why does Chicago use Comic Sans on some elevator inspection certificates?
The Comic Sans font often signals levity. Its use has concerned Chicagoans who noticed it on city elevator inspection certificates.
wbez.org
NEW — Chicago teens will have free access to select YMCA locations across the city this summer through a new partnership announced by Mayor Brandon Johnson and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. thetriibe.com/2026/06/chic...
Chicago teens are getting free YMCA memberships through new summer program • The TRiiBE
The City of Chicago, YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and Mielle Cares launched the “Get Summer Program,” giving teens free access to the Y all summer long.
thetriibe.com
My first piece for Curious City! Had a lot of fun tracking down the truth to this typeface mystery 🕵️
WBEZ@wbez.org · 3mo agoWhy would the city of Chicago use what’s arguably the most unserious font for a serious document? And why just three words?
It was certainly a week! In my newsletter, Kedits, I wrote about why I do things that seem futile, like telling House Republicans on the tax committee that they need to raise taxes. I also included my full written and oral testimony too. www.kedits.com/p/tax-subcom...
Tax Subcommittee Hearing on Your Paycheck, Returned
How the Working Families Tax Cuts Delivered for Americans
open.substack.com
Wrote about the Palantir chore coat — an item that is both an investor outreach strategy as well as a marketing effort to try to convince the public it's cool. W/ insights from @dieworkwear.bsky.social and @trufelman.bsky.social (whose podcast you should listen to) www.theverge.com/report/92802...
Who is the Palantir chore coat for?
The data mining company with extensive defense contracts is making merch to signal which side you’re on.
theverge.com
Wisconsin has the nation’s highest reported rate of fatal falls among older adults. But many falls are preventable. Older adults can work on balance and strength through classes like ballroom dancing and parkour. We visited some of those classes. wisconsinwatch.org/2026/05/wisc...
We won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting @chicagotribune.com! Our entire newsroom covered Midway Blitz with everything we had. I’ve never been prouder of the Tribune or its commitment to the truth. It’s an honor to be part of this team.
Gregory Pratt@royalpratt.bsky.social · 8mo ago64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz. Our team fanned out to cover the before, during and after of the federal government’s months-long raid on an American city. This is worth your time to understand the United States today www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...
The Minnesota Star Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for its coverage of a shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church last summer.
Star Tribune wins Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Annunciation shooting
The newsroom last won the award for coverage of the George Floyd murder and following unrest.
bit.ly
You should read every word of this powerful piece. For now, I'll pull some highlights about the Trump Administration's proposal to cut or even eliminate SSI benefits for up to 400K families caring for disabled loved ones while struggling to get by themselves. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families
A rule change pushed by White House officials would slash benefits or end support for as many as 400,000 Supplemental Security Income recipients with Down syndrome, dementia and other disabilities who...
propublica.org
Will millionaires flee states that try to tax them? Wrong question. Why are we improvising tax policy state to state when it’s the federal government that should be dealing with health care, child care and affordability? There we go! Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Tax Reform Gone Wild
Podcast Episode · Optimist Economy · April 14 · 46m
podcasts.apple.com
Yesterday, our members in New York, D.C., Chicago and across the country walked out to demand a fair contract. We deserve job security. We deserve to know AI won’t be used to replace us. We know that @propublica.org can and must do better.
We’re on strike today! Support our fight for a fair contract by NOT visiting the @propublica.org website or engaging with ProPublica stories today. Tell ProPublica’s management you won’t cross the picket line: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
Economy too weak, prices too high, and war in Iran? The comparison to the 1970s is easy to make. But I think it's the wrong one. I write for @bloomberg.com about the parallels our economy has right now with the mid-aughts. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
The US Economy Is Replaying the 2000s, Not the 1970s
When it comes to understanding the economy, the pull of the past is hard to ignore. Cause and consequence are difficult enough to parse in real time. How about predicting a sequence of events? Near im...
bloomberg.com