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mulchy.bsky.social
shawn
@mulchy.bsky.social
5.6K followers 620 following 1.5K posts
a very serious journalist | signal: shawn.56
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mulchy.bsky.social
happy black friday buy these cool local things recommended by really cool local people instead
The Reader’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide - Chicago Reader
Locally made goods, unique experiences, and Chicago organizations to support.
chicagoreader.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by shawn
mulchy.bsky.social
2/ 🏛️ the school of the art institute of chicago laid off 20 people earlier this month including three of five employees at the renowned video data bank.

(via kerry cardoza)
Make It Make Sense: Tenants of buildling raided by feds unionizing
Plus: Layoffs at SAIC’s Video Data Bank, community members fight demolition of a southwest-side power plant, and more.
chicagoreader.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by shawn
mulchy.bsky.social
this week in make it make sense, the @chicagoreader.com’s weekly news roundup:

1/ ✊ the remaining residents of the south shore apartment building raided by feds in september are unionizing to demand immediate repairs and move-out assistance.

(via @djbyrnes1.bsky.social)
Make It Make Sense: Tenants of buildling raided by feds unionizing
Plus: Layoffs at SAIC’s Video Data Bank, community members fight demolition of a southwest-side power plant, and more.
chicagoreader.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by shawn
unraveledpress.com
I'm ICE, boys. I love crashing cars, getting divorced, crashing cars, bargain bin jeans, texting while driving, crashing cars, OLD GLORY, and let's not forget my one true passion in life—crashing cars
November 26, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by shawn
msivit.bsky.social
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!
injusticewatch.org Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 3d
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
mulchy.bsky.social
they’re all the same exhibit 40274
cingraham.bsky.social Chris Ingraham @cingraham.bsky.social · 2d
From the MN Society for Professional Journalists: St. Paul police shot three photojournalists (MPR, Reuters, Sahan Journal) with "less lethal" munitions during an ICE operation yesterday. One had to go to the hospital. They say they were specifically targeted by St. Paul police.
MNSPJ condemns St. Paul police attacks on journalists The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists strongly condemns attacks on journalists by law enforcement on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, during a federal operation in St. Paul. At least three local photojournalists were injured by less-lethal munitions deployed by St. Paul police officers while covering the story. One was transported to the hospital in an ambulance. All three journalists were clearly identified as press with badges and/or vests, in addition to having cameras in hand, clearly at work. All three photojournalists and multiple other local journalists on scene were also injured by chemical irritants. Kerem Yücel, with MPR News, was hit by a less-lethal munition in the shoulder and was transported to a hospital by ambulance. He has since been released and is recovering. Tim Evans, a freelance photojournalist with Reuters, was struck in the stomach with a pepper ball round. Aaron Nesheim, a photojournalist with Sahan Journal, was struck in the head with a pepper ball round. Evans and Nesheim did not require hospitalization. The three journalists hit by munitions shared with MNSPJ that they believe they were targeted by law enforcement for doing their jobs. Photojournalists are on the frontlines of documenting history and it is imperative that they are kept safe and their First Amendment rights are protected. Attacking journalists sends a message to both journalists and everyday citizens that their First Amendment rights will not be respected. The First Amendment protects the rights of journalists to report on their communities and provide information that communities need — information that, on Tuesday, was not transparently available from any law enforcement agency. We demand answers from St. Paul city leadership about why the city’s police department attacked our colleagues and a commitment to seeing that this will never happen again.
November 26, 2025 at 8:13 PM
mulchy.bsky.social
this week in make it make sense, the @chicagoreader.com’s weekly news roundup:

1/ ✊ the remaining residents of the south shore apartment building raided by feds in september are unionizing to demand immediate repairs and move-out assistance.

(via @djbyrnes1.bsky.social)
Make It Make Sense: Tenants of buildling raided by feds unionizing
Plus: Layoffs at SAIC’s Video Data Bank, community members fight demolition of a southwest-side power plant, and more.
chicagoreader.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:17 PM
mulchy.bsky.social
you’ll never guess who just emailed me
mulchy.bsky.social shawn @mulchy.bsky.social · 3d
i asked the sao if the cuts to the felony review unit were related to the new "expedited felony review" policy. matt mcgrath, o'neill burke's communications director, never responded.

none of the 20+ (soon to be 30+) people in the sheriff's policy & comms office responded to my emails either 🤷
Cook County law enforcement agencies get more money in 2026
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved large investments in policing and prosecutions, over objections from advocates.
chicagoreader.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by shawn
stevanzetti.bsky.social
The Dallas Express, a right wing "news" website that routinely quotes groups that were secretly funded by the website's publisher Monty Bennett, has been given a White House press pass under the "new media" program that also includes folks like Russian-funded podcaster Tim Pool.
The Dallas Express will receive White House press credentials for the first time, marking a major milestone for the nonprofit newsroom as it continues to expand its national presence. CEO Chris Putnam announced Wednesday that the outlet has been invited to participate in the White House's New Media Program. Putnam and The Dallas Express co-founder Sarah Zubiate Bennett, host of the Let's Talk Local podcast, will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to attend the outlet's first press conference inside the James S. Brady Briefing Room.
November 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by shawn
heathercherone.bsky.social
BREAKING: The Illinois Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether Chicago police officers accused of serious misconduct have the right to ask an arbitrator — and not the Chicago Police Board — to decide their fate, but those proceedings must take place in public. @wttw.bsky.social
Illinois Supreme Court to Decide Whether Serious CPD Discipline Hearings Must Take Place in Public
The decision by the state’s highest court keeps the system Chicago officials used for 60 years to hold officers accused of the most egregious misconduct in a deep freeze. Oral arguments will take plac...
news.wttw.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by shawn
wonkicorn.bsky.social
As a signatory of the demand letter, I can't lie. This hurts. This trend needs to not just stop, but reverse. This is money that must be used to address social determinants of health & safety, not carceral solutions. We've seen how carceral solutions lead to & enforce fascism. We need to do better.
November 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by shawn
jesspish.bsky.social
None of this has ever been about “dangerous people” considering Purdue Pharma killed how many people hmm?
chrismurphyct.bsky.social Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 2d
This is the scandal. Trump isn’t targeting dangerous people. He’s targeting peaceful immigrants. Almost exclusively.
November 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
mulchy.bsky.social
☁️🍃
lake-michigan.live Lake Michigan! Live! @lake-michigan.live · 2d
Current* conditions near Chicago, IL:
View of Chicago skyline from the roof of the Field Museum of Natural History. // Image captured at: 2025-11-26 15:28:47 UTC (about 8 min. prior to this post) // Current Temp in Chicago: 34.07 F | 1.15 C // Precip: overcast clouds // Wind: W at 31.071 mph | 50.00 kph // Humidity: 77%
November 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by shawn
imleor.bsky.social
The best review I’ve read about the Smashing Pumpkins opera, s/o @jamieludwig.bsky.social
A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness redeems the Smashing Pumpkins’ biggest excesses - Chicago Reader
Billy Corgan’s collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago reinvents the band’s 1995 double album for an ensemble of more than 100.
chicagoreader.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:32 PM
mulchy.bsky.social
cool cool cool

chicagoreader.com/news/politic...
A major reorganization of Dart’s information technology (IT) department—called the Sheriff’s TechOps Bureau—will streamline the agency’s use of so-called data-driven policing. The sheriff’s office notes in budget documents that the “Organized Retail Crime Team is using data driven tactics to combat ongoing retail theft throughout Cook County.” The agency says it uses “data and analytics” to recover hard-to-trace homemade ghost guns and collect weapons from people whose firearms licenses have been revoked. Officers in the sheriff’s Special Victims division use “technology tools, including bots, to combat human trafficking, while still maintaining a victim centered approach.” Five new IT departments will each be staffed with roughly 20 people, whose jobs include creating custom software, generating “predicting analytics,” and maintaining the sheriff’s vast array of hardware and programs. Another 18 positions will be added to the IT department’s video monitoring unit, bringing the unit’s total number of staffers to 76. Elsewhere in his office, Dart will add nine staffers to his policy and communications team. The department includes two executive directors, two directors, and two deputy directors among its 31-member staff. (No one from the sheriff’s press office responded to the Reader’s multiple emails with questions and requests for comment as of press time.) The board also approved $2 million for server infrastructure, $300,000 for the purchase of Genetec Cloudrunner license plate readers, and more than $250,000 for night vision equipment.
November 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by shawn
harmscommitted.com
"$1.5 billion allocated for law enforcement in 2026 represents an increase of more than $300 million [..] from the previous year."

"Budgets are moral documents that show us what government officials truly value."
#Illinois #USA #Policing #Incarceration #Courts #Deportation #EthnicCleansing
Cook County law enforcement agencies get more money in 2026
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved large investments in policing and prosecutions, over objections from advocates.
chicagoreader.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by shawn
mulchy.bsky.social
new: i read the 2026 cook county budget so you don't have to.

spoiler: more money for police and prosecutors (plus a lot of other stuff).
Cook County law enforcement agencies get more money in 2026
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved large investments in policing and prosecutions, over objections from advocates.
chicagoreader.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:16 PM
mulchy.bsky.social
i’ve seen videos of both ice and hsi active in chicago and the suburbs over the past week
lataco.bsky.social L.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 3d
DAILY MEMO: In Absence of Border Patrol, ICE and HSI Steps Up to Take Its Place

@eltragon.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by shawn
djbyrnes1.bsky.social
Jesus fucking Christ
Image text: The 2026 budget includes massive investments in digital surveillance, including millions of dollars in servers and hardware, as well as dozens of new positions in digital forensics and predictive analytics. In all, more than 56 percent of the county’s general fund is earmarked for the public safety system—which encompasses the Cook County Department of Corrections, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the various facets of the county court system. The $1.5 billion allocated for law enforcement in 2026 represents an increase of more than $300 million, or about 30 percent, from the previous year, driven mostly by personnel costs. Image text: Key facts: • Total 2026 budget: $10.12 billion • Total 2026 public safety budget: $1.81 billion • Cook County Sheriff’s Office’s 2026 budget: $815 million • Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office’s 2026 budget: $260 million • Cook County Office of the Chief Judge’s 2026 budget: $414 million
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by shawn
joeengleman.bsky.social
Feeling thankful that Shawn read the Cook County budget so I did not have to
November 26, 2025 at 12:10 AM
mulchy.bsky.social
feds in st. paul today
November 25, 2025 at 10:07 PM
mulchy.bsky.social
new: i read the 2026 cook county budget so you don't have to.

spoiler: more money for police and prosecutors (plus a lot of other stuff).
Cook County law enforcement agencies get more money in 2026
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved large investments in policing and prosecutions, over objections from advocates.
chicagoreader.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by shawn
dell.bsky.social
NEW: ICE has torn up its $180M cap on a proposed immigrant-tracking program and is now guaranteeing private surveillance firms at least $7.5M each, with potential payouts reaching $281M per vendor. The change signals a shift from “pilot” to full-scale outsourcing of street-level investigative work.
ICE Offers Up to $280 Million to Immigrant-Tracking ‘Bounty Hunter’ Firms
Immigration and Customs Enforcement lifted a $180 million cap on a proposed immigrant-tracking program while guaranteeing multimillion-dollar payouts for private surveillance firms.
www.wired.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by shawn
jtischauser.bsky.social
Hi. Please support my favorite independent news outlet in Chicago. Unraveled's recent work revealed:

-DHS agent Timothy Donahue's racist X account.
-DHS agents lied about killing Silverio Villegas Gonzalez
-IL Dems caved to RW law and order rhetoric and built a surveillance state using ALPRs
unraveledpress.com unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3d
~1 yr ago we sent a Giving Tuesday email to our tiny mailing list shortly after starting our own publication.

In the time since, we have been overwhelmed by how many of you find our work worth supporting.

No email this time around. But if you'd like to support indie media today, here's how:
Support Unraveled
unraveledpress.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by shawn
injusticewatch.org
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 2:01 PM