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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Lynda Lopez @lyndab08.bsky.social · 17d

ICE all across the northwest side of Chicago with hotspots in Hermosa and Belmont Cragin. There is a recent development in Logan square as well around Central Park and armitage where videos and eyewitnesses are sharing tear gas thrown at protesters trying to intervene.

Emergency alert: Belmont Cragin stay home October 3, 2025

Icirr eyes on ice update: since approximately 11am today the rapid response network verified the presence of federal agents in Belmont Cragin, zip code 60639 at Walmart on diversey and kilPatrick, Cicero and north, Home Depot at Cicero and armitage

We recommend community members to stay home, multiple arrests have been made. Ice is still in the area.

To report any possible ice activity, or if you know someone who has been detained please call the family support hotline at 1-855-435-7693

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Elvia Malagón @elviamalagon.bsky.social · 27d

Illinois takes a jab at CDC chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...

Illinois health officials recommend COVID-19 vaccine for all adults, contradicting feds

The new guidance follows an executive order signed by Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this month aimed at expanding access for COVID-19 shots and other vaccines across the state.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Alex V. Hernandez @avhndz.bsky.social · Sep 5

Chicago isn’t a “hellhole.” And funds Trump might use to deploy National Guard troops here would be better spent investing in long-term social-safety-net programs already helping reduce the city’s violent crime, experts say. blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/05/s... via @blockclubchi.bsky.social

Sorry, Trump: Chicago Is Not The 'Murder Capital Of The World' — Not Even Close, Data Shows

Chicago has been a political punching bag for decades, and while there is crime here, statements about it being a "hellhole" are just plain false. “There are just a lot of cities that have higher homi...

blockclubchicago.org

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Tal Kopan @talkopan.bsky.social · Sep 2

New story w/ @hilaryburns.bsky.social:
A DOJ lawyer accused Harvard of ‘indifference to antisemitism.’ As a Harvard undergrad he wrote a paper from Hitler’s perspective.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/02/m...

A DOJ lawyer accused Harvard of ‘indifference to antisemitism.’ As a Harvard undergrad he wrote a paper from Hitler’s perspective. - The Boston Globe

Michael Velchik once also told a peer that "Mein Kampf" was among his favorite recent reads.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 28

Thanks for reading and sharing!

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · Aug 28

Some Call It The ‘Death Hospital’: Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems. Outstanding work from @mannyramos.bsky.social and @blockclubchi.bsky.social blockclubchicago.org/2025/08/27/s...

Some Call It 'Death Hospital': Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems

Patients and staff have reported filthy rooms, broken supplies and a flooded ER at Community First in Portage Park despite the tens of millions in taxpayer grants sent to the for-profit safety-net hos...

blockclubchicago.org

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

This investigation required digging through thousands of pages of public records and interviewing dozens of people. It examined our health care system through this one hospital but it isn't the only one operating like this. I hope you give it a read.

blockclubchicago.org/2025/08/27/s...

Some Call It 'Death Hospital': Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems

Patients and staff have reported filthy rooms, broken supplies and a flooded ER at Community First in Portage Park despite the tens of millions in taxpayer grants sent to the for-profit safety-net hos...

blockclubchicago.org

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Staff and patient's greatest fear happened in 2022. When a 27-year-old woman who fainted came to the hospital by an ambulance struggling to breathe. She was never medically assessed and died while in the ER's waiting area.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Then there was the patient experience. One patient said her mother's tracheostomy was clogged and struggling to breathe. She sat waiting for hours before her daughter demanded immediate help. Then, nurses tried plugging the suction machine in the wall but there was no power.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Nurse said they sometimes have to feed patients themselves since the cafeteria sometimes runs out of food. Another ER Tech said one day they only had eggs to feed patients. He quit shortly after that.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Staff shared stories that they believe are placing patient in danger. This includes an ER tech who was asked to do medication pushes and on one occasion doing a jugular IV on a patient. These things go beyond what they were license to do.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

We examined years of Medicare Cost reports to try and understand the health of the hospital. And what experts told us is the hospital appears to be in a "financial death spiral"

These records painted a picture of declining patient volumes and decreasing revenue.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Yet, in at least one grant, the hospital said it was using the money to help renovate a behavioral/mental health unit at the facility. But as reported this WGNTV, the hospital seemingly stiffed the contractors hired to do it. wgntv.com/video/northw...

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

This comes as the hospital has received at least $75 million in state and fed taxpayer grants since 2020. Most government agencies won't say if an audit was conducted of where the money went while one agency said the hospital has not complied with requests to review documents.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Doctors and nurses have tried to perform miracles when medical gloves, thermometers, saline flushes, and other essential supplies and equipment were scarce. The hospital has 17 x-ray machines down — one of the most in the state.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Beds have been broken. Air conditioners have stopped working. Elevators were deemed unsafe and shut down. A parking garage was condemned. Water pipes burst. Biohazard waste and normal garbage cross contaminate.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

Community First Medical Center is a for-profit safety-net hospital in Portage Park that provides care to a large population of low-income patients. The hospital has developed a reputation among the neighborhood that have residents scared to go there for care.

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Aug 27

There is a lot going on in the world, but I am popping back in this space to share a yearlong investigation we published today about a hospital on Chicago's Northwest Side that some call the "Death Hospital."

Here's why:
blockclubchicago.org/2025/08/27/s...

Some Call It 'Death Hospital': Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems

Patients and staff have reported filthy rooms, broken supplies and a flooded ER at Community First in Portage Park despite the tens of millions in taxpayer grants sent to the for-profit safety-net hos...

blockclubchicago.org

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Elvia Malagón @elviamalagon.bsky.social · Aug 27

Some Call It The ‘Death Hospital’: Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems blockclubchicago.org/2025/08/27/s..., reports @mannyramos.bsky.social

Some Call It 'Death Hospital': Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems

Patients and staff have reported filthy rooms, broken supplies and a flooded ER at Community First in Portage Park despite the tens of millions in taxpayer grants sent to the for-profit safety-net hos...

blockclubchicago.org

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · Jun 10

Come work with us!

Stephanie Lulay @slulay2.bsky.social · Jun 10

📢 DREAM JOB ALERT: @blockclubchi.bsky.social is hiring an Investigative Editor to help lead our award-winning investigative team, The Watch.

Deadline: 6/27 Learn how to apply here: blockclubchicago.org/were-hiring-...

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Stephanie Lulay @slulay2.bsky.social · Jun 10

📢 DREAM JOB ALERT: @blockclubchi.bsky.social is hiring an Investigative Editor to help lead our award-winning investigative team, The Watch.

Deadline: 6/27 Learn how to apply here: blockclubchicago.org/were-hiring-...

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · May 21

UnitedHealth Group paid nursing home thousands to stop transferring ailing patients to hospitals to save the company millions. One former worker described the practice as "Well, they’re medically frail, and no one lives for ever.”

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Revealed: UnitedHealth secretly paid nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers

A Guardian investigation finds insurer quietly paid facilities that helped it gain Medicare enrollees and reduce hospitalizations. Whistleblowers allege harm to residents

www.theguardian.com

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Manny Ramos @mannyramos.bsky.social · May 20

A heart-wrenching story about the domestic violence crisis in Chicago as victims often suffer in silence. Read @minabloom.bsky.social recount the tragic story of DeMarie' Williams and how her story is sadly too common.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/05/20/a...

As Chicago’s Domestic Violence Crisis Deepens, Victims Suffer In Silence

DeMarie' Williams didn't seek help from authorities before her boyfriend beat her to death, prosecutors say. As essential services for domestic violence victims are threatened by funding cuts, advocat...

blockclubchicago.org

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Stephanie Lulay @slulay2.bsky.social · May 15

Incredibly proud of @blockclubchi.bsky.social investigative reporter @mannyramos.bsky.social, who is a finalist for the Driehaus Foundation Investigative Reporting Award for his series “CTA In Crisis."

blockclubchicago.org/2025/05/15/b...

Block Club Chicago Finalist For Driehaus Foundation Investigative Reporting Award

Reporter Manny Ramos' investigative series "CTA In Crisis" is nominated for the Driehaus Foundation Awards, which highlight the imperative impact and importance of investigative reporting in the state...

blockclubchicago.org

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Reposted by Manny Ramos

Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · Feb 27

Here's Kevin Jackson, who did 23 years & was rejected twice by the CIU, though the evidence against him consisted of statements witnesses recanted before trial. A cop in his case married a prosecutor in the unit. Footage by Abel Uribe, editing by @msivit.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwr8...

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