Maggie Sivit
@msivit.bsky.social
✏️ Engagement editor at @injusticewatch.org ⌛️ Previously digital and engagement producer at WBEZ 🇨🇺 NAHJ member 📬 [email protected]
Most people running for Cook County judge seats in March are currently attorneys. Do you have experience working with them? Inform our next judicial election guide by sending your tips!
As we work on our next judicial election guide, we want to hear from you: What should voters know about these attorneys and judges? If you recognize any of these names, send us your tips. buff.ly/DlOqYRA
November 25, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Most people running for Cook County judge seats in March are currently attorneys. Do you have experience working with them? Inform our next judicial election guide by sending your tips!
from a lovely event last month with Press Forward Chicago's Peer Learning Community (photos by Hannah Carroll)
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
from a lovely event last month with Press Forward Chicago's Peer Learning Community (photos by Hannah Carroll)
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Here's a closer look at the surveillance video at the center of the Kevin Walker trial. Read the full story: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
November 12, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Here's a closer look at the surveillance video at the center of the Kevin Walker trial. Read the full story: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Join us 11/18 at 1 p.m. ET for our 3rd annual webinar on the state of trans rights. 🏳️⚧️
We continue to face a wave of coordinated attacks from both state & federal levels. Tune in as we break down these fast-moving developments & what they mean for trans people.
RSVP now: tinyurl.com/45tmvz56
We continue to face a wave of coordinated attacks from both state & federal levels. Tune in as we break down these fast-moving developments & what they mean for trans people.
RSVP now: tinyurl.com/45tmvz56
November 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Join us 11/18 at 1 p.m. ET for our 3rd annual webinar on the state of trans rights. 🏳️⚧️
We continue to face a wave of coordinated attacks from both state & federal levels. Tune in as we break down these fast-moving developments & what they mean for trans people.
RSVP now: tinyurl.com/45tmvz56
We continue to face a wave of coordinated attacks from both state & federal levels. Tune in as we break down these fast-moving developments & what they mean for trans people.
RSVP now: tinyurl.com/45tmvz56
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Some screenshots from itp_chicago IG. You can see how federal agents stake their presence around some of these communities in intersections in the middle of traffic and sidewalks in front of businesses. This feels very particular to the SW Side with Little Village being a prime target for this.
November 6, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Some screenshots from itp_chicago IG. You can see how federal agents stake their presence around some of these communities in intersections in the middle of traffic and sidewalks in front of businesses. This feels very particular to the SW Side with Little Village being a prime target for this.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Many homes in Santiago de Cuba were totally destroyed by Hurricane Melissa. The solidarity between the people of Guamá remains strong in the aftermath of the disaster. Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba during a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions
www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/we-lost-our-...
www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/we-lost-our-...
November 5, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Many homes in Santiago de Cuba were totally destroyed by Hurricane Melissa. The solidarity between the people of Guamá remains strong in the aftermath of the disaster. Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba during a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions
www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/we-lost-our-...
www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/we-lost-our-...
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
NEW: On Friday, a judge found a former Cook County youth jail employee not guilty on charges related to an incident that left a boy unconscious. The verdict highlights the challenges of holding detention center staff accountable for alleged abuse, advocates say. buff.ly/Isrf22P
Rare trial of Chicago juvenile jail guard ends in acquittal
A Cook County judge found Kevin Walker not guilty of aggravated battery and official misconduct in a 2023 incident involving a 15-year-old at the juvenile jail.
www.injusticewatch.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:11 PM
NEW: On Friday, a judge found a former Cook County youth jail employee not guilty on charges related to an incident that left a boy unconscious. The verdict highlights the challenges of holding detention center staff accountable for alleged abuse, advocates say. buff.ly/Isrf22P
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
BREAKING: Former Cook County juvenile jail employee Kevin Walker was found not guilty of aggravated battery and official misconduct Friday after a short bench trial before Judge Kenneth Wadas. Story to come.
Reporter Kelly Garcia will be covering today's trial from the courthouse. Stay tuned for updates.
Rare criminal trial of former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee expected to start Thursday
The former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee is charged with two felonies for allegedly throwing a boy to the ground.
buff.ly
October 31, 2025 at 8:07 PM
BREAKING: Former Cook County juvenile jail employee Kevin Walker was found not guilty of aggravated battery and official misconduct Friday after a short bench trial before Judge Kenneth Wadas. Story to come.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
The Kevin Walker trial has begun.
Reporter Kelly Garcia is attending the trial and will provide updates during breaks. Cameras aren't allowed in court, but visual reporter Verónica Martinez is also present creating court sketches.
Reporter Kelly Garcia is attending the trial and will provide updates during breaks. Cameras aren't allowed in court, but visual reporter Verónica Martinez is also present creating court sketches.
NEW: For decades, allegations of abuse and misconduct have swirled around Chicago’s juvenile detention center. On Thursday, a Cook County judge will begin proceedings in a rare trial of a former employee accused of physically harming a child at the facility.
Rare criminal trial of former Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center employee expected to start Thursday
Key takeaways from this investigation A former rapid response team specialist at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is facing felony
buff.ly
October 31, 2025 at 4:48 PM
The Kevin Walker trial has begun.
Reporter Kelly Garcia is attending the trial and will provide updates during breaks. Cameras aren't allowed in court, but visual reporter Verónica Martinez is also present creating court sketches.
Reporter Kelly Garcia is attending the trial and will provide updates during breaks. Cameras aren't allowed in court, but visual reporter Verónica Martinez is also present creating court sketches.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
The White House plans to bar hospitals that treat transgender children and youth from getting any Medicare and Medicaid payments. The move would affect trans youth who have private insurance, too. n.pr/4qFa1mY
Trump pushes an end to medical care for transgender youth nationally
The White House plans to bar hospitals that treat transgender children and youth from getting any Medicare and Medicaid payments. The move would affect trans youth who have private insurance, too.
n.pr
October 30, 2025 at 1:44 PM
The White House plans to bar hospitals that treat transgender children and youth from getting any Medicare and Medicaid payments. The move would affect trans youth who have private insurance, too. n.pr/4qFa1mY
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
New: Videos show ICE/CBP agents are scanning peoples' faces on the street to verify citizenship. ICE has tool to instantly look up unprecedented number of databases with just a photo
“I’m an American citizen so leave me alone”
“Alright, we just got to verify that”
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
“I’m an American citizen so leave me alone”
“Alright, we just got to verify that”
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
ICE and CBP Agents Are Scanning Peoples’ Faces on the Street To Verify Citizenship
Videos on social media show officers from ICE and CBP using facial recognition technology on people in the field. One expert described the practice as “pure dystopian creep.”
www.404media.co
October 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
New: Videos show ICE/CBP agents are scanning peoples' faces on the street to verify citizenship. ICE has tool to instantly look up unprecedented number of databases with just a photo
“I’m an American citizen so leave me alone”
“Alright, we just got to verify that”
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
“I’m an American citizen so leave me alone”
“Alright, we just got to verify that”
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
October 30, 2025 at 2:46 AM
NYT’s new “Watch” tab is its own in-app version of a Reels tab
October 30, 2025 at 1:14 AM
NYT’s new “Watch” tab is its own in-app version of a Reels tab
Loved so many things about this story: the videos at the top, the contemporary and historical photos, the reporter’s observations from the West Fourth Street subway station. The video posted on Instagram for this story was also really great www.instagram.com/reel/DQME5Uu...
The public bench is a staple of life in New York City. Its evolution “reflects society’s changing relationship with public space, who is viewed as worthy of occupying it and shifting notions of how officials should deal with homelessness,” Anna Kodé writes. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/n...
October 29, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Loved so many things about this story: the videos at the top, the contemporary and historical photos, the reporter’s observations from the West Fourth Street subway station. The video posted on Instagram for this story was also really great www.instagram.com/reel/DQME5Uu...
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Print versions of our toolkit for Chicago renters are now available at every Chicago Public Library branch! Learn how to research building code violations and property ownership in Chicago and Cook County. Look for them in the free resources area near the library entrance.
October 27, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Print versions of our toolkit for Chicago renters are now available at every Chicago Public Library branch! Learn how to research building code violations and property ownership in Chicago and Cook County. Look for them in the free resources area near the library entrance.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Details of ICE actions in West Town yesterday are exhibitive of how unhinged they are. They broke the window of a car outside the Erie West Town Health Center & dragged a man out. His pregnant partner was inside the center. They also took a man delivering Amazon packages in the nhood too.
Feds make arrests across North and Near West sides, deploy tear gas on residential street in Lake View
“It was terrifying,” said one woman, who witnessed the arrest of a soon-to-be father outside the Erie Family Health Center in West Town.
www.wbez.org
October 26, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Details of ICE actions in West Town yesterday are exhibitive of how unhinged they are. They broke the window of a car outside the Erie West Town Health Center & dragged a man out. His pregnant partner was inside the center. They also took a man delivering Amazon packages in the nhood too.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
NEW: I found 17 sheriffs in Illinois that have contracts to detain people for ICE through U.S. Marshals Service contracts. IL law explicitly prohibits these types of intergovernmental service agreements. news.wttw.com/2025/10/22/d...
Despite Illinois Sanctuary Laws, At Least 17 County Sheriffs Have Contracts to Hold People in ICE Custody
To ascertain if county jails are complying with the state’s TRUST Act, WTTW News sent Freedom of Information Act requests to each of the 90 county jails in Illinois to obtain copies of intergovernment...
news.wttw.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:15 PM
NEW: I found 17 sheriffs in Illinois that have contracts to detain people for ICE through U.S. Marshals Service contracts. IL law explicitly prohibits these types of intergovernmental service agreements. news.wttw.com/2025/10/22/d...
For last Friday's edition of @injusticewatch.org's newsletter, I wrote about the ban on most print mail in Illinois prisons and spoke with several people about the impact of the new rule. Read the newsletter in full here, and subscribe if you don't already! mailchi.mp/injusticewat...
October 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
For last Friday's edition of @injusticewatch.org's newsletter, I wrote about the ban on most print mail in Illinois prisons and spoke with several people about the impact of the new rule. Read the newsletter in full here, and subscribe if you don't already! mailchi.mp/injusticewat...
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
We mailed a resource guide to more than 4,000 Cook County homeowners who are currently at risk of losing their homes through Illinois’ property tax sale system — considered by experts to be the “most abusive” in the nation. This wouldn't have been possible without your support. Thank you.
October 18, 2025 at 5:59 PM
We mailed a resource guide to more than 4,000 Cook County homeowners who are currently at risk of losing their homes through Illinois’ property tax sale system — considered by experts to be the “most abusive” in the nation. This wouldn't have been possible without your support. Thank you.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
BREAKING from PP
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:06 PM
BREAKING from PP
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*
The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:
Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer
More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado
www.propublica.org/article/immi...
by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
new:
for the @chicagoreader.com’s night issue, @djbyrnes1.bsky.social wrote about the trend of people getting released from the cook county jail increasingly late at night.
between may 2020 and july 2025, more than twice as many people were released between 8 pm-5 am than between 5 am-8 pm.
for the @chicagoreader.com’s night issue, @djbyrnes1.bsky.social wrote about the trend of people getting released from the cook county jail increasingly late at night.
between may 2020 and july 2025, more than twice as many people were released between 8 pm-5 am than between 5 am-8 pm.
Released from jail late at night
Over the last five years, the number of people released from the Cook County jail late at night has steadily increased.
chicagoreader.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:47 PM
new:
for the @chicagoreader.com’s night issue, @djbyrnes1.bsky.social wrote about the trend of people getting released from the cook county jail increasingly late at night.
between may 2020 and july 2025, more than twice as many people were released between 8 pm-5 am than between 5 am-8 pm.
for the @chicagoreader.com’s night issue, @djbyrnes1.bsky.social wrote about the trend of people getting released from the cook county jail increasingly late at night.
between may 2020 and july 2025, more than twice as many people were released between 8 pm-5 am than between 5 am-8 pm.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
NEWS: Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans issued an order today meant to prevent immigration arrests -- "civil arrest" -- for individuals attending court proceedings in Cook County.
October 15, 2025 at 12:14 AM
NEWS: Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans issued an order today meant to prevent immigration arrests -- "civil arrest" -- for individuals attending court proceedings in Cook County.
Reposted by Maggie Sivit
Was just at a neighborhood school at dismissal. Hundreds of people with whistles surrounding the school and stationed down every block making sure ICE doesn’t snatch anyone. The same is happening at all the schools around here. I love my neighborhood and I love Chicago.
October 10, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Was just at a neighborhood school at dismissal. Hundreds of people with whistles surrounding the school and stationed down every block making sure ICE doesn’t snatch anyone. The same is happening at all the schools around here. I love my neighborhood and I love Chicago.