Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ben Madeska

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 2h

Silverio Villegas Gonzalez

www.reuters.com/world/us/chi...

Chicago ICE crackdown's first casualty, a father of two, had built a quiet life in the US

An agent shot Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, father of two, during a massive immigration sweep.

www.reuters.com

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Megan Stielstra @meganstielstra.bsky.social · 50m

"What holds this city together is not a frigid fear. What holds this city together is a million different kindnesses every day. That’s what makes Chicago.”

J.R. Nelson @jrnelson.bsky.social · 3h

So honored I got to know the legendary artist, actor and raconteur Tony Fitzpatrick a little bit over the years. May his memory be a blessing to his family and many, many friends blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/11/t...

Tony Fitzpatrick, Lauded, Eclectic Chicago Artist, Dies at 66

The artist, writer and actor recently published “The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches From an American Life," and had planned to star in a Steppenwolf show based on his new book.

blockclubchicago.org

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 1h

Tony Fitzpatrick, Lauded, Eclectic Chicago Artist, Dies at 66 blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/11/t...

Tony Fitzpatrick, Lauded, Eclectic Chicago Artist, Dies at 66

The artist, writer and actor recently published “The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches From an American Life," and had planned to star in a Steppenwolf show based on his new book.

blockclubchicago.org

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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 3h

The end of federal enforcement of special ed laws. Some states - including MN - will likely be ok. But a lot of disabled kids in a lot of states are going to lose the education that federal law and decades of jurisprudence say they are owed.

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

www.usatoday.com

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.

On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.
"I wasn't planning on letting her stay, but I didn't know what the hell was going on," the man said of his Venezuelan migrant neighbors. But he quickly relented. The little girl was inconsolable and hid under his bed.
"I didn't want them to take her," said the man, who didn't want to be named because he fears he'll be targeted by federal authorities for his actions.
"I gave her my bedroom, and I just told her,
'Just stay there. Don't open, don't, shh, just stay quiet," he recalled telling the mom and daughter as he choked back tears.

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cow tools daily @cowtoolsdaily.bsky.social · 1d

it's not FOR us

edited comic panel. Batman is breaking a lump-with-handle cow tool over his knee and saying "this is the tool of the cow. we do not understand it. we will not use it."

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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 2d

Judge’s order bars ‘federalization and deployment of the National Guard of the United States within Illinois’ for at least 14 days.
trib.al/S3CAbjL

Federal judge hits Trump administration credibility in siding with city and state against National Guard deployment

Judge's order bars 'federalization and deployment of the National Guard of the United States within Illinois' for at least 14 days.

trib.al

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 2d

We were very lucky to get support and assistance focused early intervention and therapy from the start. It made such a profound difference in our perspective and approach

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Lucius Fox In The Box @carnegro.bsky.social · 2d

Pope Leo is spitting.

www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

Leo questioned a world where the wealth of the elite grows
"exponentially" while many "millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings." He also criticized "ideologies that defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,"
with false promises "that a free-market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty."

Leo described a "new tyranny," which shuns any kind of oversight and where the economy is structured "in such a way that sacrifices are demanded of the masses in order to serve the needs of the powerful." The poor, he wrote, are only allowed "drops that trickle down."

The pope openly challenged "prosperity theology" and called Christians to the practice of giving charity. "It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility," he wrote.

Popular movements that challenge "the empire of money," invite people to take on the cause to combat poverty alongside the poor, instead of on their behalf, and "make history," the pope said. It our duty, Leo said, to "make their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues, even at the cost of appearing foolish or naïve."

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 2d

Book cover of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Autumn of the Patriarch

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 3d

I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?

Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 3d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL @edsbs.bsky.social · 4d

These guys are so vulnerable to defecting to Chicago

Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 4d

Don’t think these Texas National Guard guys are going to be chasing any immigrants around Chicago on foot

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 4d

BEST BIG CITY IN THE US 9 YEARS IN A ROW.

While critics try to paint Chicago as something to fear, the rest of the world knows the truth — this is the best big city in America.

Best Big City: Chicago Wins Award 9th Year in a Row

Learn why Chicago was voted the Best Big City for the 9th consecutive year by exploring our vibrant culture, welcoming inclusion, and so much more.

www.choosechicago.com

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Cole Wehrle @colewehrle.bsky.social · 5d

Alright, let's do it. Here's a little prospective reader's guide to every Thomas Pynchon novel. We'll take them in order of publication. This might be a long thread. Buckle up! 1/x

Image from the Simpsons of Pynchon with a bag over his head on a cell phone. He's standing in front of a house with a neon sign advertising it as his home.

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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 4d

There are a lot of memorable photos of the current moment surfacing.

Here’s one from Portland now.

Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 4d

Incredible (via www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...)

A group of apparent armed agents assemble at the end of a street, as seen from the perspective of a person in inflatable frog costume, their frog’s eyes dominating the foreground. The Ice facility in downtown Portland on Monday. Photograph: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/AFP/Getty Images

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 4d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 4d

Been enjoying the hell out of After the Party by The Menzingers lately

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 4d

New painting: La Tupiña, Bordeaux France, oil on panel, 9"X12", 2025

#art #painting

Smal rectangular oil painting on an easel. It is the front of a restaurant with a blue awning that says "La Tupiña" in white letters, two tables with chairs in front, under the awning. A blue door to the right, with wisteria vines climbing the building

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 5d

This is me submitting to art exhibitions. Spending weeks or months on paintings? No problem. A joy. Formatting and uploading images? Agony. An injustice.

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Ben Madeska @benmadeska.bsky.social · 5d

Quite the quote here

Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 5d

Plaintitff attys concede this language will cause hesitancy in the govt and among federal agents, but say this is a good thing.

"We would like them to hesitate before shooting priests and journalists," plaintiff atty says.

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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 5d

DEVELOPING: Illinois sues Trump over National Guard deployment

chicago.suntimes.com/donald-trump...

Illinois sues Trump over National Guard deployment

The lawsuit comes hours after a federal judge in Oregon barred Trump from deploying federalized members of the any National Guard troops under Trump's command to Oregon.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere @tylerplariviere.bsky.social · 5d

PHOTO: Illinois, Texas National Guard troop mobilization to Chicago to begin 'immediately,' last 60 days: Pentagon

READ MORE HERE: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Members of the Illinois National Guard block off West Division Street at North New Orleans Street as Thousands march by during a Black Lives Matter protest; in the Old Town neighborhood, Saturday, June 6, 2020. | Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 6d

This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 6d

Obsessed with this Isle Royale lake cam specifically, it is always a moment of Zen

Lake Superior! Live! @lake-superior.live · 6d

Current* conditions near Isle Royale NP, MI:

Views of Lake Superior, Caribou Island at left, Middle Islands at center, and the entrance to Moskey Basin, home of Rock Harbor Lighthouse, at right. // Image captured at: 2025-10-05 22:35:57 UTC (about 15 min. prior to this post) // Current Temp in Isle Royale NP: 71.70 F | 22.06 C // Precip: few clouds // Wind: SSW at 19.506 mph | 31.39 kph // Humidity: 66%

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