Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 17h

It’s the 20th anniversary of the second DARPA Challenge, which was the catalyst for the development of automated vehicles, from semi trucks to sidewalk delivery bots. Good overview. www.rdworldonline.com/darpa-grand-...

DARPA Grand Challenge: 20 Years of Autonomous Vehicles

Twenty years after the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, Stanley's desert victory sparked the autonomous vehicle revolution from Waymo to Tesla. Here's how.

www.rdworldonline.com

Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 17h

South Shore Chicago ICE raid: U.S. Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino said that U.S. citizens were also detained during the raid due to safety reasons, saying “we generally don’t determine alienage while in the building,” adding, “no rights have been violated today.”

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 1d

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

Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 17h

“The reforms are easy to vote for,” Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea told Capitol News Illinois. “The funding is not. So, if people are going to stand up and say, ‘I support public transit,’ they have to support it 100%, not just a little bit.” capitolnewsillinois.com/news/lawmake...

Lawmakers ‘ready to move’ on transit reform, but funding agreement remains elusive

Illinois lawmakers push for long-term transit funding reforms to prevent service cuts as budget shortfalls loom.

capitolnewsillinois.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 1d

Per Thomas Edsall: “[Trump]…has initiated what amounts to a unique form of partisan civil war designed to amass power in a nominal democracy and defang, decimate and defund the opposition.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...

Opinion | Trump Is Not Afraid of Civil War. Neither Is Stephen Miller.

www.nytimes.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 1d

If it turns out that robotaxis and other automated vehicles can handle narrower streets better than human-operated vehicles and sidewalk delivery bots need more space to function effectively (and safely w/peds) maybe an unintended long-term effect of AVs could be wider sidewalks/narrower streets.

Steven @stevevance.net · 1d

Chicago sidewalks are too narrow, example 74

Coco and Jodi meet on Randolph St

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 1d

"The Suburban Case for Transit Reform." @starlinechicago.bsky.social nails why the Chicago region needs the Illinois General Assembly to deliver transit governance and funding reforms. "Trips don’t end at the city limits, so why do our transit agencies?" citythatworks.substack.com/p/the-suburb...

The Suburban Case for Transit Reform

Trips don’t end at the city limits, so why do our transit agencies?

citythatworks.substack.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 2d

Zoning/military law experts: Can Broadview (or other municipalities) push back against ICE expansion efforts on the basis of zoning laws that prohibit detention centers or overnight accommodations in properties leased or acquired by the federal government? chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

ICE's Broadview facility has become a de facto detention center, minus the rules and oversight

ICE regularly held immigrants far beyond the hours they set for the Broadview processing center, data through July shows. Immigrants held there say there are no beds, limited food, and toilets are out...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 2d

Report on possible ICE expansion in the Chicago region. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says ‘we’re here to stay,’ indicating ICE may expand in Broadview

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem indicated on Friday that the federal government is seeking to acquire additional property in west suburban Broadview to expand its immigration enforcement effor...

www.yahoo.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 2d

The federal government is seeking to acquire additional property in west suburban Broadview to expand its immigration enforcement efforts in the Chicago area. This article looks at how local zoning laws may impact ICE expansion efforts. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/10/06/w...

As Portland Fights ICE With Land-Use Regulations, Will Zoning Survive Trump? — Streetsblog USA

Portland's attempt to rein in ICE could trigger a battle over the constitutionality of zoning.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 2d

The Illinois transit reform bill calls for a revamp of reduced fare programs for transit in the Chicago region. This helpful @rpa.org report might help inform that process.

Regional Plan Association @rpa.org · 3d

Health care, food, opportunity, community — all are dependent on having affordable, accessible transportation options.

Read more about free and reduced fare programs across the US in our recent report, Reduced Fares: Lessons from Across the Country

Reduced Fares

Across the nation, reduced fare programs aim to assist those who rely on mass transit the most. Here’s what we can learn from their successes and challenges.

rpa.org

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 2d

The @evanstonroundtable.bsky.social coverage of transit fiscal cliff and related issues has been strong. Here is its report on the revised fiscal cliff numbers revealed at the 10/3 meeting of the RTA's Ad Hoc Committee on Transit Funding.

evanstonroundtable.bsky.social @evanstonroundtable.bsky.social · 3d

Transit fiscal cliff delayed, but service cuts still loom - Evanston RoundTable

The Regional Transportation Authority of Chicago faces a financial shortfall, but it's less drastic than expected. Service cuts are inevitable without a bailout.

evanstonroundtable.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 3d

Reposted by Thomas Bamonte

Lynda Lopez @lyndab08.bsky.social · 4d

This is Brighton Park, the neighborhood where a U.S. Border Patrol agent also shot a woman earlier today. It is a predominantly Latine community on the southwest side.

Daniel Connerton @lordnad.bsky.social · 4d

@govpritzker.illinois.gov

37 and Kedzie, East Garfield, Illinois.

This is assault.

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Reposted by Thomas Bamonte

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 4d

I visited the apartment building ICE raided on Tuesday today. Story to come, but you can walk right in. Half of the apartments have no doors on them. Children's stuff abandoned in some flats. *Citizen* residents told me they were arrested and held for hours in zipties. This is America

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 4d

Biked Chicago to Elgin. Much was in DuPage County: Prairie Path -> Great Western Trail -> Prairie Path-Elgin Extension. Trails were well-maintained gravel w/well marked road crossings. Plenty of users. Kudos to DuPage Cty Division of Transportation (#DuDOT). Map here: cms5.revize.com/revize/dupag...

cms5.revize.com

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Reposted by Thomas Bamonte

Steven @stevevance.net · 5d

Chicago ADU FAQ
abundanthousingillinois.org/resources/ac...

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 4d

A sanguine assessment of USDOT’s pause on federal funding for two big CTA Red Line projects. chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/03/d...

Don't mess with Illinois! Advocates and local politicians say Trump's latest interference with Chicagoland transportation won't succeed - Streetsblog Chicago

In the past week, the Trump administration has done its best to create anxiety and mayhem in the Chicago-area walk/bike/transit scene. His transit chief Marc Molinaro ran an op-ed in the Tribune that ...

chi.streetsblog.org

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 4d

Report on yesterday’s transit fiscal cliff meeting @rtachicago.bsky.social. chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...

CTA's potential bus, rail service cuts pushed to last half of 2026

CTA, Metra and Pace have shrunken an expected $770 million budget shortfall next year to $202 million, agency bosses said at a special meeting called by the Regional Transit Authority.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 5d

One of the first casualties if the Illinois General Assembly doesn't address transit governance/funding in this month's veto session will be @pacesuburbanbus.bsky.social popular Taxi Access & Rideshare Access Programs. Pace estimates that funding for the programs will be gone at the end of 1Q 2026.

Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 5d

The @chicagocta.bsky.social made the case for what $1.5B/yr. in add'l funding sought by transit reform legislators-- ~double the 2027 fiscal shortfall--could buy; namely, much better transit service for the region. CTA's Acting Prez also noted CTA carries ~85% of riders; gets <50% operating funding.

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 5d

Statement by @rtachicago.bsky.social Chair on today's meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Transit Funding. Links to PPTs and meeting recording. FY26 funding gap estimate drops from $771M to $202M. Big gaps in subsequent fiscal years. mailchi.mp/rtachicago.o...

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 5d

Two big @chicagocta.bsky.social Red Line projects are in @usdot.bsky.social crosshairs. www.transportation.gov/briefing-roo...

www.transportation.gov

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 6d

The Wave of Transit ‘Fiscal Cliffs,’ Explained:
Covid and inflation played a role; but for many agencies, the crisis goes much deeper. Incisive look @benschneider.bsky.social at transit fiscal cliff causes and solutions. His assessment of viable solutions:

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 6d

According to the Milwaukee DPW projects implemented in 2024, for which speed data has been collected, reduced speeding by an average of 27%.
Projects completed in 2023 reduced crashes by 15%, injury crashes 7% and “life-changing injury crashes” by 28%. urbanmilwaukee.com/2025/09/26/n...

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Thomas Bamonte @thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 6d

Overview of new US Supreme Court term. slate.com/news-and-pol...

The Supreme Court Will Do Four Things This Term That Tell You Everything You Need to Know

In the week before the October 2025 Supreme Court term opens, the impulse among court watchers will again be to do what we always do.

slate.com

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