Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 1h

I will let you know once I sort out how to do this!

Reposted by Martha Bayne

Noah Berlatsky @nberlat.bsky.social · 2h

I think people also forget that there were civil rights protests for *100 years.* activists protested and lobbied constantly from the end of reconstruction through the 50s and 60s. mostly they were just ignored, beaten, jailed. 1

Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 2h

“From the first children’s march on May 2 [1963], The New York Times published more stories about race in the next two weeks than in the previous year.” — Taylor Branch, “The King Years”

I’m not an advocate and don’t have a dog in these fights, but these sort of ahistorical takes frustrate me.

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 5h

Turns out protest alone was never what changed things, it was protest *plus media coverage of protests*, which prompted officials to respond to protests, which increased public awareness of protests, etc.

If the protest happens & corporate media simply ignores it ... it's inert.

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Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 1h

Book designer Sheila Sachs and I went over to his studio and found something in his vast portfolio of work that fit the bill. I still have a stash of signed prints of this cover. Maybe I can sell them off & donate the money to the ACLU in his name …

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Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 1h

In disbelief that Tony Fitzpatrick has died. Almost 10 years ago he messaged me out of the blue to see if I wanted some art of his for the cover of "Rust Belt Chicago," a @beltpublishing.bsky.social anthology I was editing of essays, poetry & short stories about Chicago. His generosity was legend.

Leor Galil @imleor.bsky.social · 1h

RIP Tony Fitzpatrick

Tony Fitzpatrick, a Chicago artist in many realms, has died at 66

He had recently published a new book, “The Sun at the End of the Road,” filled with his distinctive art, poetry and prose. Some consider it a memoir.

www.chicagotribune.com

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 1d

Judge Sara Ellis' opinion in IL v. Trump is an absolute banger:

www.courtlistener.com/docket/71559...

The Court therefore must make a credibility assessment as to which version of the facts
should be believed. While the Court does not doubt that there have been acts of vandalism, civil
disobedience, and even assaults on federal agents, the Court cannot conclude that Defendants’
declarations are reliable. Two of Defendants’ declarations refer to arrests made on September 27,
2025 of individuals who were carrying weapons and assaulting federal agents. See Doc. 62-2 at
19; Doc. 62-4 at 5. But neither declaration discloses that federal grand juries have refused to
return an indictment against at least three of those individuals, which equates to a finding of a
lack of probable cause that any crime occurred. See United States v. Ray Collins and Jocelyne
Robledo, 25-cr-608, Doc. 26 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 7, 2025); United States v. Paul Ivery, 25-cr-609
(N.D. Ill.). In addition to demonstrating a potential lack of candor by these affiants, it also calls
into question their ability to accurately assess the facts. Similar declarations were provided by
these same individuals in Chicago Headline Club et. al. v. Noem, 25-cv-12173, Doc. 35-1, Doc.
35-9 (N.D. Ill.), a case which challenged the Constitutionality of ICE’s response to protestors at
the Broadview ICE Processing Center. In issuing its TRO against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem,
the court in that case found that the plaintiffs would likely be able to show that ICE’s actions
have violated protestors’ First Amendment right to be free from retaliation while engaged in
newsgathering, religious exercise, and protest, and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from
excessive force. Id. at Doc. 43. Although this Court was not asked to make any such finding, it
does note a troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of
appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning,

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 2d

you'd think a prominent news outlet like the New York Times might mention that "antifa" isn't an actual organization in a long story about antifa, but nope!

and the subhead helps props up a false claim this professor was up to something seedy as something up for debate

NYT headline: "Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats"

subheadline: "Mark Bray was teaching courses on antifascism. Turning Point USA accused him of belonging to antifa, which he denies. His flight to Spain was canceled abruptly on Wednesday night."

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Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 1d

Here’s the temporary restraining order against President Trump and Homeland Security in the Chicago National Guard lawsuit

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Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 2d

Whoa, Waukegan is national news

Border Patrol drags US citizen out of car, then the mayor steps in

DHS said that a U.S. citizen used her vehicle to block federal agents during a Border Patrol operation in Waukegan, Illinois.

www.newsweek.com

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 3d

She's Canadian, you wouldn't know her.

Schrödinger's Sneetch Belly @rtodkelly.bsky.social · 3d

"the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa"

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 3d

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 3d

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

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Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 3d

I mean, obviously.

Federal judge in Chicago finds ICE repeatedly violated consent decree over ‘warrantless arrests’

A Chicago federal judge has extended a nationwide consent decree requiring ICE to better document and report probable cause for immigration arrests and found the agency repeatedly violated the 2022…

www.chicagotribune.com

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Gretchen Felker-Martin 🍉 @scumbelievable.bsky.social · 3d

I don't like him personally, but David Simon on AI is the final word on the subject.

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dan sinker @dansinker.com · 3d

The direct address straight to the camera at the end of this is 100% right out of professional wrestling. Finally.

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

If you come for my people, you come through me.

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 3d

We know more about the massive military-style raid on a Chicago housing complex thanks to the reporting of @southsideweekly.bsky.social, @blockclubchi.bsky.social, and neighborhood resident Eboni Watson who chronicled the event. Among the emerging questions: what's real estate's role in this?

section of text from South Side Weekly's coverage, which says: "The building was purchased by Wisconsin-based investor Trinity Flood in January 2020, according to Cook County records. On October 1, the day after the raid, a judge reviewed an emergency motion from Wells Fargo seeking to appoint Matthew Tarshis of Frontline Real Estate Partners as the property’s receiver.

Flood purchased three multifamily properties in South Shore in 2020. The neighborhood, which had the highest number of eviction filings in Chicago from 2015-2019 according to the Law Center for Better Housing, has seen a rise in outside real estate investors since the 2017 announcement of the Obama Presidential Center’s construction in the neighboring Jackson Park.

Wells Fargo Bank foreclosed on the building in mid-2024, bringing a $27 million lawsuit against Flood for missed loan payments. In late 2024, the City began closing its largest migrant shelters and, through state funding assistance distributed via Catholic Charities and moving support from New Life Church, relocated many families to buildings such as this one."

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 3d

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 3d

FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS www.wbez.org/arts/2025/10...

Chicago artist Tonika Lewis Johnson among 22 winners of coveted MacArthur ‘genius grant’

The Englewood native, whose work focuses on inequity in Chicago, is among this year’s class of MacArthur Fellows. The list of international fellows receiving the $800,000 prize includes several artist...

www.wbez.org

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3d

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 3d

A tweet from Mayor Brandon Johnson says Trump has tried to unjustly arrest a Black man and he’s not going anywhere. A reply from Donald Trump says the Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE officers.

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3d

(shared with permission) ICE/CBP has been active on Chicago's northwest side this morning—and also met with rapid responders.

Agents reportedly abducted one man from this Dunkin at Belmont and Milwaukee around 9:30am before speeding off.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Pritzker: "It's unconscionable. This has never happened before. They're calling out troops onto the streets of a state that doesn't want them and they're not even telling us where they're gonna go, what they're gonna do. This hasn't happened I don't think since the Civil War."

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Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 4d

please read my memo www.theverge.com/business/793...

Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed

Bari Weiss has sold her company, The Free Press, to manage the decline of broadcast news at CBS. How many ways can it go wrong?

www.theverge.com

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Martha Bayne @marthabayne.bsky.social · 4d

Happy pub day to Dylan Taylor-Lehman's "Going Rackless: Chicago's Amateur Pool Players and the Quest for Glory in the Biggest Tournament in the World"! A gripping piece of narrative journalism exploring the wild world of Chicago's amateur billiards scene, out today from @illinoispress.bsky.social

Going Rackless

www.press.uillinois.edu

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Robert Loerzel @robertloerzel.bsky.social · 4d

From the Broadview Village Board meeting:

Caroline Kubzansky @ckubzansky.bsky.social · 4d

A woman who identifies herself as part of the movement outside the processing center about a quarter mile down the road says she feels the need to share a song.
Then this happened:

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Reposted by Martha Bayne

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 5d

Let it never again be said that a woman with no real reporting experience who fell for a Twitter account called "Official Antifa" cannot be the head of a huge news organization

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Leor Galil @imleor.bsky.social · 5d

That’s right

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 5d

JUST IN: Chicago journalistsa re suing DHS and ICE over force used against reporters:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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