Denali
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denali.bsky.social
Denali
@denali.bsky.social
Early childhood and public systems researcher.
Rich inner life. No inside voice. I live in Chicago.

Photo by https://www.greginda.com/
Fetal personhood laws, including this one, are often passed under the cover of protecting people while they are pregnant. Outside of medical reasons, pregnancy is incredibly dangerous with increased risk of partner violence and murder.

And yet, these conversations never center the pregnant person.
Puerto Rico governor signs law to recognize fetus as human being as critics warn of consequences
Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a bill that amends a law to recognize a fetus as a human being. It's a move that doctors and legal experts warn will have deep ramifications for the U.S. territory.
apnews.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Denali
“Pretextual traffic stops are the new stop-and-frisk,” said Amy Thompson, staff counsel at Impact for Equity and a researcher on the new study. Police “are not only concentrating traffic stops in communities of color, but also for drivers of color driving throughout the city.”
Black and Hispanic drivers get the majority of Chicago’s traffic tickets — including in mostly white areas. blockclubchi.co/4aLWrrL
February 13, 2026 at 2:03 PM
"A spreadsheet mistake that turned into my lived experience for a year"
last year, admin put me in three different classrooms across five classes—most teachers got their own classrooms

but i genuinely don’t think it was malice, it was a spreadsheet mistake that turned into my lived experience for a year
February 13, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Kitt...stated that it was not an issue of “delinquency,” instead young Americans were:

"angry because their parents are angry ...because there is a war going on that they don’t understand...You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. They rebel in the street."
Already under CIA observiation for her community activism, Eartha Kitt was blacklisted in the U.S. for nearly a decade (1968–1978) after publicly criticizing the Vietnam War at a 1968 White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson.

Kitt was forced to work in Europe and Asia during that time.
Jan. 18, 1968: Eartha Kitt Spoke Truth at the White House
When asked at a White House luncheon about “juvenile delinquency,” Eartha Kitt responded by talking about the root causes of rebellion, including the Vietnam War and the draft.
www.zinnedproject.org
February 13, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Denali
I am interested in as much lore about Tyler Technologies as I can get right now.
Cook County’s troubled tech overhaul boils over, as political leaders start pointing fingers
The latest delays to the Cook County property tax system upgrade by controversial contractor Tyler Technologies is leading to fighting among county leaders.
www.chicagotribune.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:09 AM
*Puts Big Freedia on in the car*

"This is my hype song"

Husband: "aren't you moderating a book talk?"

Me: "Yuuuup."
February 12, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Once again since we are talking about the SAVE act

A lot of people in government now went to Yale Law at the same time as my sister. In one of her classes MULTIPLE people argued that they couldn't think up a situation where a legitimate voter couldn't present documents to verify their identity.
February 12, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Denali
Congress is moving on the SAVE Act bills, all of which would restrict the freedom to vote for millions of Americans.

These Jim Crow 2.0 bills target vulnerable people in our communities, who are less likely to have ready access to the documents the bills require.
February 12, 2026 at 10:00 PM
I cried at work today but it was good crying
February 12, 2026 at 7:49 PM
While also NOT regulating businesses to ensure they pay their workers enough to feed themselves and their families...
Alternatively: We are imposing new requirements to private businesses that will discourage them from serving people on SNAP.
Brooke Rollins: "You talk about those on food stamps. A lot of people buy their groceries, especially those that are on food stamps, from convenience stores. We're now requiring those retailers to double the amount of healthy food that they stock if they're gonna take the EBT card."
February 12, 2026 at 2:43 PM
If you're not doing anything tonight and want to join me in conversation with Tushar Gandhi about secular multiracial democracy and ideological extremism (local and global) there's still time/tickets!

tinyurl.com/SACREDACTSTu...
February 12, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Denali
The house passed the SAVE Act last night. If you need to know more about why that’s bad and why we need to stop it in the senate, let me explain it to you (in comic form)!

aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/the-save-act
February 12, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Happy Birthday, Abe Lincoln.

Fun fact: the first time my mom met my husband was at a NY historical society exhibit about Lincoln. She wanted to be mean to him but got too excited about Abe Lincoln and forgot.
February 12, 2026 at 12:59 PM
This is FORBES saying it:

"The voucher tax credit fits neatly into that broader project: route around public institutions rather than rebuild them."

Learn more from @ilfps.bsky.social here
February 12, 2026 at 12:54 PM
It's hilarious and unsurprising that visiting my kids' elementary school is the closest i get to the feeling of walking into Cheers.
February 11, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Everything about this story is so much but sit with the idea that there are people in DC trying to cut money to preschool classrooms so they can fund the group chat that celebrated shooting a teacher's assistant who works with young children.
February 11, 2026 at 3:40 AM
Reposted by Denali
Too often, the political (and legal) penalty for avoiding transparency is lighter than the perceived political penalty of promoting it.

State's Attorney data is presumptively public and subject to FOIA. There is zero reason it should not be provided in an open-access dataset. If *CPD* manages it...
It's been 14 months since the Cook County State's Attorney was sworn in

and this info, which she "temporarily" took down, is still unavailable

Data | Cook County State's Attorney share.google/73WFGrpKtnIU...
February 10, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Denali
Moving backward on this should be shocking and unacceptable.
February 10, 2026 at 2:45 PM
The Cook County Dems just sent out a mailer all about fighting back against Trump with no endorsement for the US Senate seat. In this essay I will...
February 10, 2026 at 2:11 PM
It's simply wild to me that these people will drape themselves in the language of law and order all day every day and then suggest that we change the laws because it's too hard for federal agents to quickly and quietly abduct our neighbors.
February 10, 2026 at 6:29 AM
Just in case you were wondering the Tribune editorial board is now laundering talking points directly from Noem et Al:

"Last week, DHS issued a news release defending the use of administrative warrants, which are warrants issued by the executive branch itself, to conduct arrests."
This is literally what CURRENT LAW requires. It’s in the Constitution! www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 10, 2026 at 6:12 AM
Reposted by Denali
NEW: Immigrant advocacy groups represented by @aclu.org ask a federal judge to let them help defend the Census Bureau against Missouri's lawsuit that seeking to alter #2030Census results that the 14th Amendment says must include the “whole number of persons in each state"
#12 in State of Missouri v. United States Department of Commerce (E.D. Mo., 4:26-cv-00131) – CourtListener.com
MEMORANDUM in Support of Motion re 11 MOTION to Intervene as Defendants filed by Movants FIEL Houston, Make the Road New York, New York Immigration Coalition, OCA -Asian Pacific American Advocates. (A...
www.courtlistener.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Today's episode of "Why is the 8 Yr old asking?" is about Charles Keating.
February 9, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Dear Sirs:

Pragmatism is a word that the weak and venal use to justify beliefs so abohorent that they shame even the shameless. It's a word that has no place in moral matters.

Please find an editor for your editorial board

Denali
From the Editorial Board: Minnesota, even in its grief and trauma over the needless deaths of two of its citizens at the hands of the state, is managing to show that communication and negotiation are possible.
Editorial: Illinois should consider pragmatic tweaks to its sanctuary law
In Minnesota, Democratic politicians are negotiating pragmatic policy changes regarding their sanctuary policies. Illinois should do the same.
trib.al
February 9, 2026 at 7:47 PM
One of the most interesting and surprising things I've observed is how hard it is for people who want to help to understand the cultural context of this and how quick they are to disparage communities that are struggling to find a way forward.
February 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM