Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 1d

Not good. This both reduces enforcement of civil rights protections and reduces efforts to ensure a stable housing market for everyone.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HUD Issues Layoff Notices, Targeting Fair Housing Staff With Deep Cuts

Fair housing staffers who investigate claims of housing discrimination at field offices nationwide were among the hundreds of HUD staffers who received layoff notices.

www.bloomberg.com

1

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 4d

Good things happening to good people!!

1

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 4d

She's also a delightful person.

1

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Shane Phillips @shanedphillips.bsky.social · 4d

This was a fun one! Check out our episode with @jessezwick.bsky.social about the organization responsible for US building codes, the 'International' Code Council. This conversation will leave you fired up to *entirely* rethink our approach to building standards. www.lewis.ucla.edu/2025/10/08/9...

Episode 99: The 'International' Code Council with Jesse Zwick (Incentives Series pt. 3)

North American buildings are built different — literally. Councilmember Jesse Zwick explains how the organization behind our unusual standards is built to fail, and he makes the case for a new approac...

www.lewis.ucla.edu

1 5 13

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 4d

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

140 3K 5.8K

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Neil Steinberg @neilsteinberg.bsky.social · 4d

This is a good time to remind ourselves of the basics:

www.everygoddamnday.com/2024/09/the-...

Immigrants: hardworking, Samaritans, not the enemy

Readers tell how they've personally benefited from immigration.

www.everygoddamnday.com

4 3

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Mike Quigley @quigley.house.gov · 5d

We learned how to peacefully de-escalate encounters with ICE, how to help those being targeted, and how to engage in mutual aid.

Make sure to #KnowYourRights: Go to quigley.house.gov/KYR to learn more. (2/2)

Immigration Protection Kit

With increased ICE activity around Chicago, the office of Congressman Mike Quigley is here to help.

quigley.house.gov

6 22

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 10d

One hundred billionaire donors poured a record $2.6 billion into the 2024 elections—1 of every 6 dollars spent.

New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Graph showing breakdown of top 100 billionaire donor spending on outside political spending groups.

4 49 91

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ocasio-cortez.house.gov · 11d

This is not a fight about tax credits.

This is a fight over your ability to go to a pharmacy and afford your insulin.

We have the chance to protect the health care of millions of Americans. We need to take it.

350 4.9K 17K

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 11d

I can’t believe I’m watching interviews of city mayors talking about how they are coordinating with other mayors to discuss how to protect their residents FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

I know we are “used to it” but it is absolutely insane

1.5K 18K 60K

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 12d

I thought the whole point of copyright law is to make make it illegal for others to steal your work.

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 13d

Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.

OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out

Executives at the startup notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.

on.wsj.com

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 12d

I will see anything Linklater films. Such a great craftsman.

1

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12d

Pritzker: "People of Illinois, we need your help. Get our your cell phones, record and narrate what you see. Put it on social media. Peacefully ask for badge numbers and identification. Speak up for your neighbors. We need to let the world know that this is happening and that we won't stand for it."

550 11K 34K

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 17d

I once witnessed what I think was at least 10,000 birds flying south in about a 20 minute span. It was amazingly beautiful as they shapeshifted in the sky. I will never forget it.

2

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 18d

Got it, but mobility has a more important meaning tied the ability to get around rather than the speed of getting around. It's a semantic nitpick for sure.

1

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 18d

Not crazy about using the word mobility here when it's more about velocity than connectivity.

1 2

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 18d

Once again, dumb ideas result in poor results and inefficiency.

Tracy Jan @tracyjan.bsky.social · 18d

GOP lawmakers cite Georgia’s experiment as a model for the federal Medicaid work requirements set to take effect in 2027.

A new report by a government spending watchdog found that the nation’s only Medicaid work requirement program spent twice as much on administrative costs as on health care.

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says

Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at lea...

www.propublica.org

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 18d

Curious if ABC's affiliate team is looking for non-Sinclair and non-Nexstar stations to jump to.

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 19d

We live in a global community, not in a vacuum.

The new, steep price for this U.S. visa could be a blessing for Canadian tech | CBC News

As the Trump administration moves to limit some skilled workers from entering the U.S. on a specialized visa, the Canadian tech sector is champing at the bit — hoping the new restriction will lure tal...

www.cbc.ca

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 20d

A tragedy.

Trump Appointees Roll Back Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Centre for Global Social Policy @cgsp-cpsm.bsky.social · 23d

"In Toronto, who gets evicted isn’t random—it follows the city’s racial and economic divides. Canada’s data practices hide crucial details about who is most at risk."
@docdantzler.bsky.social, Khalil Martin & Abigail Meza highlight connections btwn #housing policy, inequities, evictions & data

Screenshot of the article entitled "Visibile Minorities, Visible Risk: Toronto's Unequal Eviction Burden." The authors names are listed and an intro paragraph is below saying, "In Toronto who gets evicted isn't random - it follows the city's racial and economic divides. Canada's data practices hide crucial details about who is most at risk." A photo is featured of a City of Toronto notice of development sign that has been written upon by community members with statements including "Capitalism is a death cult" and "Free TCH [Toronto Community Housing] for All."

2 3

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Chandra Russo @chandrarusso.bsky.social · 21d

Fascism only works if it has a social base. I wrote a book about efforts across the country to organize predominantly white communities away from this base. How? By showing them their shared stake in fighting for racial and economic justice. The book is out Jan 2026. @surj.org

White Flank: Organizing White People for Racial Justice

Organizing White People for Racial Justice

bookshop.org

3 14 39

Reposted by Rob Breymaier

Doug Schenkelberg @endhomeless.bsky.social · 21d

Thanks to @chicagotribune.com for sharing @chicagohomeless.bsky.social & CFTEH‘s letter. No one wants people to have to sleep in parks or under viaducts or anywhere else unsheltered. Let’s come together around the solution - new revenue for permanent housing & service.

Letters: Sweeps of tent encampments will do nothing to alleviate homelessness in Chicago

A call for sweeps with a tone-deafness for service inadequacy will do nothing to decrease homelessness in Chicagoland.

www.chicagotribune.com

2 1

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 23d

You might read this and think it's irrelevant in America. But if authoritarian regimes begin to dominate the global norms of human rights it will affect us here too. America ain't perfect but it has been a better influence than the others in this article.

Autocrats Move Quickly to Fill Void as Trump Retreats From U.N.

www.nytimes.com

1

Rob Breymaier @rbreymaier.bsky.social · 23d

@harmonil.bsky.social we need a well funded transit system.

Better Streets Chicago @betterstreetschicago.org · 23d

Springfield adequately funding transit for the first time ever is NOT a bailout.

It’s an obligation.

CBS News Chicago @cbschicago.bsky.social · 23d

CTA officials warned they might be forced to eliminate 24-hour service next year, with buses and trains possibly running only from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., without a financial bailout from Springfield.

1