Erika Poethig
@erikapoethig.bsky.social
Chicagoan. Policy nerd. Houser. Mom to two boys & wife to fellow policy nerd @raysendeja
Reposted by Erika Poethig
"Pope Leo said Scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world:
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
Pope Leo calls for ‘deep reflection’ about treatment of detained migrants in U.S.
“Many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now,” Chicago-born pope says.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 AM
"Pope Leo said Scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world:
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
'How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening'..."
chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv...
Business stands with Chicago.
www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/chi...
www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/chi...
Chicago biz groups push back on Trump's National Guard plan
Three high-profile organizations representing Chicago’s business community issued an unusual joint statement over the weekend rapping President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy Illinois National Guard tr...
www.chicagobusiness.com
October 5, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Business stands with Chicago.
www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/chi...
www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/chi...
Reposted by Erika Poethig
A DOGE kid gets beat up in DC and it’s DefCon1; hundreds of bullets into federal buildings with officer killed in Atlanta and it’s crickets; violent mob attacks Capitol wounding dozens of officers and it’s pardons for all.
August 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A DOGE kid gets beat up in DC and it’s DefCon1; hundreds of bullets into federal buildings with officer killed in Atlanta and it’s crickets; violent mob attacks Capitol wounding dozens of officers and it’s pardons for all.
Reposted by Erika Poethig
We have self-reports or news accounts from 320 of the 2,000 No Kings Day events across the US today. Up to an unofficial tally of about 575,000 people now. Extrpaolating from that, total would be around 4.5m people, or about 1.3% of the pop. Some error I'm sure. Thanks to everyone crowdsourcing!
At midday Eastern Time, we have a crowdsourced, unofficial estimate of just over 32,000 people attending No Kings Day protests around the U.S. so far.
Please join us and add more data as more events get going.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Please join us and add more data as more events get going.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
No Kings Day protests unofficial attendance crowdsourcing
docs.google.com
June 14, 2025 at 8:31 PM
We have self-reports or news accounts from 320 of the 2,000 No Kings Day events across the US today. Up to an unofficial tally of about 575,000 people now. Extrpaolating from that, total would be around 4.5m people, or about 1.3% of the pop. Some error I'm sure. Thanks to everyone crowdsourcing!
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Chicago's massive "No Kings" march has taken to Downtown streets.
Follow along for live updates: blockclubchi.co/44id2A8
Follow along for live updates: blockclubchi.co/44id2A8
June 14, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Chicago's massive "No Kings" march has taken to Downtown streets.
Follow along for live updates: blockclubchi.co/44id2A8
Follow along for live updates: blockclubchi.co/44id2A8
Reposted by Erika Poethig
"All I’m asking is that you are all as passionate about [housing] as I am, understanding that the very future of our state hangs in the balance here." - Utah Governor Cox
www.deseret.com/utah/2025/05...
www.deseret.com/utah/2025/05...
Utah governor pushing for help from local leaders to get more homes for first-time buyers
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wants more help from local leaders on his starter home initiative.
www.deseret.com
June 2, 2025 at 2:29 PM
"All I’m asking is that you are all as passionate about [housing] as I am, understanding that the very future of our state hangs in the balance here." - Utah Governor Cox
www.deseret.com/utah/2025/05...
www.deseret.com/utah/2025/05...
Reposted by Erika Poethig
The Biden manufacturing construction boom is over:
June 2, 2025 at 2:28 PM
The Biden manufacturing construction boom is over:
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Many years ago, I was a NSF graduate fellow. When I started my NSF funded research, hardly anyone was interested in the process we were studying. Now there are hundreds of papers on this process, and it usefulness in agriculture. Thank you NSF for believing in vegetative phase change!
#WithoutNSF
#WithoutNSF
May 4, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Many years ago, I was a NSF graduate fellow. When I started my NSF funded research, hardly anyone was interested in the process we were studying. Now there are hundreds of papers on this process, and it usefulness in agriculture. Thank you NSF for believing in vegetative phase change!
#WithoutNSF
#WithoutNSF
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Exclusive: Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Post.
Immigrants prove they are alive, forcing Social Security to undo death label
The immigrants who have requested a reversal and been reinstated in Social Security databases include a Haitian asylum seeker and a minor child.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 18, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Exclusive: Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Post.
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Quite literally whitewashing the purpose of the Underground Railroad www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
April 6, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Quite literally whitewashing the purpose of the Underground Railroad www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Erika Poethig
This guy is in one of the worst prisons in the world with no way out and may spend the rest of his life there because, it appears, he has an autism awareness tattoo in honor of his little brother.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
March 26, 2025 at 11:46 PM
This guy is in one of the worst prisons in the world with no way out and may spend the rest of his life there because, it appears, he has an autism awareness tattoo in honor of his little brother.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Erika Poethig
I oversaw the CDFI Fund while at the Treasury Department. The White House Executive Order gutting CDFI Fund is wrong and short-sighted.
CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that deliver critical investments in low-income communities, including a lot of rural communities in Republican-leaning states.
CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that deliver critical investments in low-income communities, including a lot of rural communities in Republican-leaning states.
![Text of an Executive Order stating the "non-statutory components and functions of the [Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund] shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and [the CDFI Fund] shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law..."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vujck3ucc4eiy2ittdtezn6p/bafkreihlwtomyxerz4752q6xr3pilbflyihxrswfemlqc3fwqt6d2ndtb4@jpeg)
March 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I oversaw the CDFI Fund while at the Treasury Department. The White House Executive Order gutting CDFI Fund is wrong and short-sighted.
CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that deliver critical investments in low-income communities, including a lot of rural communities in Republican-leaning states.
CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that deliver critical investments in low-income communities, including a lot of rural communities in Republican-leaning states.
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Artists can apply to design a mural visible from the Kennedy Expressway. buff.ly/LnWDsgk
March 15, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Artists can apply to design a mural visible from the Kennedy Expressway. buff.ly/LnWDsgk
Meta banned the leading publication of the Presbyterian Church USA without explanation. I encourage you to follow @presoutlook.bsky.social on @bsky.app
Presbyterian Outlook banned by Instagram - The Presbyterian Outlook
Presbyterian Outlook’s Instagram was suspended by Meta without explanation. Learn what happened and where to find us now
pres-outlook.org
March 8, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Meta banned the leading publication of the Presbyterian Church USA without explanation. I encourage you to follow @presoutlook.bsky.social on @bsky.app
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Hundreds in Chicago gathered Sunday in thunderous support of democracy in war-torn Ukraine — two days after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance confronted the Eastern European nation’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Chicagoans rally in support of Ukraine after Zelenskyy’s contentious meeting with Trump
Politicians, activists and residents criticize the White House’s handling of Ukrainian president’s visit.
www.chicagotribune.com
March 3, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Hundreds in Chicago gathered Sunday in thunderous support of democracy in war-torn Ukraine — two days after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance confronted the Eastern European nation’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Sharing a new Substack post by @erikapoethig.bsky.social with @johannapoethig.bsky.social on how to put Timothy Snyder's fourth lesson from On Tyranny into action. postcivilized.substack.com/p/take-respo...
March 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Sharing a new Substack post by @erikapoethig.bsky.social with @johannapoethig.bsky.social on how to put Timothy Snyder's fourth lesson from On Tyranny into action. postcivilized.substack.com/p/take-respo...
Reposted by Erika Poethig
President Donald Trump’s administration has begun terminating grants to organizations that enforce the Fair Housing Act by taking complaints, investigating and litigating housing discrimination cases for Americans across the country.
Trump administration to slash funding for enforcement of fair housing laws
President Donald Trump’s administration has begun terminating grants to organizations that enforce the Fair Housing Act by taking complaints, investigating and litigating housing discrimination cas…
www.chicagotribune.com
March 1, 2025 at 5:30 PM
President Donald Trump’s administration has begun terminating grants to organizations that enforce the Fair Housing Act by taking complaints, investigating and litigating housing discrimination cases for Americans across the country.
There are 26 districts held by Republicans with more than 30% of constituents enrolled in Medicaid. All of them voted for the budget resolution that will cut $2.2T in Medicaid benefits over the next 10 years.
Map: Where Medicaid Enrollment in the U.S. Is the Highest
As Republicans weigh deep cuts, these congressional districts — some red, some blue — have the most to lose.
www.nytimes.com
February 28, 2025 at 12:03 PM
There are 26 districts held by Republicans with more than 30% of constituents enrolled in Medicaid. All of them voted for the budget resolution that will cut $2.2T in Medicaid benefits over the next 10 years.
Reposted by Erika Poethig
The State Department claimed a plan to buy thousands of armored Teslas was left over from the Biden administration. A document obtained by NPR shows the Biden plan was far smaller.
A new document undercuts Trump admin's denials about $400 million Tesla deal
The State Department claimed a plan to buy thousands of armored Teslas was left over from the Biden administration. A document obtained by NPR shows the Biden plan was far smaller.
www.npr.org
February 24, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The State Department claimed a plan to buy thousands of armored Teslas was left over from the Biden administration. A document obtained by NPR shows the Biden plan was far smaller.
Major cuts planned for HUD will cause major disruptions in the housing market and slow housing production = ⬆️ housing prices
HUD cuts expected to worsen America’s housing crisis, staffers say
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to be slashed in half, according to an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 23, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Major cuts planned for HUD will cause major disruptions in the housing market and slow housing production = ⬆️ housing prices
Reposted by Erika Poethig
NYC>Chicago is legitimately a great corridor for high-speed rail, if states of NY, PA, OH, IN & IL could unite for it.
You could hit:
—NYC—20m
—Philly—6m
—Harrisburg—600k
—Pittsburgh—2.4m
—Youngstown—400k
—Cleveland—2.2m
—Toledo—600k
—Ft Wayne—500k
—South Bend—300k
—Chicago—9m
On a ~straight route
You could hit:
—NYC—20m
—Philly—6m
—Harrisburg—600k
—Pittsburgh—2.4m
—Youngstown—400k
—Cleveland—2.2m
—Toledo—600k
—Ft Wayne—500k
—South Bend—300k
—Chicago—9m
On a ~straight route
This is the Beijing-Shanghai corridor, which takes 4 hours and 18 minutes to cover 800 miles. That’s the same distance as NYC to Chicago, which currently takes 20 hours by train.
(Tansu Yegen)
(Tansu Yegen)
February 22, 2025 at 6:12 PM
NYC>Chicago is legitimately a great corridor for high-speed rail, if states of NY, PA, OH, IN & IL could unite for it.
You could hit:
—NYC—20m
—Philly—6m
—Harrisburg—600k
—Pittsburgh—2.4m
—Youngstown—400k
—Cleveland—2.2m
—Toledo—600k
—Ft Wayne—500k
—South Bend—300k
—Chicago—9m
On a ~straight route
You could hit:
—NYC—20m
—Philly—6m
—Harrisburg—600k
—Pittsburgh—2.4m
—Youngstown—400k
—Cleveland—2.2m
—Toledo—600k
—Ft Wayne—500k
—South Bend—300k
—Chicago—9m
On a ~straight route
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Public health teams are being gutted, imperiling efforts to safeguard organ donation and prevent maternal and infant death. Many workers expressed fear at what would happen to the work they left behind. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
They Worked to Prevent Death. The Trump Administration Fired Them.
Public health teams are being gutted, imperiling efforts to safeguard organ donation and prevent maternal and infant death. Many workers expressed fear at what would happen to the work they left behin...
www.propublica.org
February 23, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Public health teams are being gutted, imperiling efforts to safeguard organ donation and prevent maternal and infant death. Many workers expressed fear at what would happen to the work they left behind. www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Reposted by Erika Poethig
Something is shifting. They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. (1/2)
February 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Something is shifting. They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. (1/2)
Please share the stories of American public servants who have been unjustly fired by the Trump administration/Elon Musk and his DOGE
Trump Costs America
Highlighting the real people whose lives have been ruined, the good American jobs that are being destroyed, and the important public goods being lost.
trumpcostsamerica.com
February 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Please share the stories of American public servants who have been unjustly fired by the Trump administration/Elon Musk and his DOGE
Thank you!
I'm following the instructions that @erikapoethig.bsky.social is spending dedicated time researching and framing for those of us who want to take a stand against what Trump and his co-bullies are doing to the U.S. and the world.
postcivilized.substack.com/p/toning-the...
postcivilized.substack.com/p/toning-the...
TONING THE MUSCLES OF DEMOCRACY
First action to take based on lessons from On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
postcivilized.substack.com
February 18, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Thank you!