Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Shannon Craig Straw

Brian Straw @brianstraw.bsky.social · 1d

I joined the protests at the Broadview ICE detention facility because of what is happening to our immigrant neighbors: children zip-tied and shoved into vans, mothers pulled from cars on the way to school, neighbors afraid to go to church or work.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Tim Walz: "People are gonna be lined up out here to get food, and we're talking about a damn ballroom. Don't lose the plot."

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Stephanie Kollmann @slkollmann.bsky.social · 5d

Most ppl know that Chicago (home of modern urban segregation) is a very segregated place but I don't think most outside Chicago (+many Chicagoans!) understand how the *distances* involved and *depth* of segregation mean most white ppl have ZERO visibility into many Black and Latine neighborhoods

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map of chicago population by race, showing extreme segregation with Black and Latino people largely in clusters on the South and West Sides and White people clustered along the central-northern lakefront, with only a few diverse/mixed-race areas in between

Closeup of neighborhoods on the West and Southwest side showing extremely stark racial clusters, some continuing for miles, of Black vs Latino vs Asian vs White vs small mixed-race housing areas

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Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 6d

Still not liveposting this hearing b/c it's dense, largely administrative issues, but this was worth highlighting:

District Judge Jeff Cummings just asked a govt atty if he can certify relevant immigration detainees are being held in "safe and sanitary" conditions.

"I cannot," a govt atty replied.

Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 6d

Good afternoon from Chicago's Dirksen federal courthouse. Now sitting in on a hearing in the Castañon-Nava settlement case, which limits immigration agents' aurhority to conduct warrantless arrests.

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Amy Sullivan @amysullivan.bsky.social · 6d

Shout-out to local Chicago journalists, who have really shined over the past horrible month. Without them, we would know far less about ICE activity and abuses.

Local news matters. Local news matters. Local news matters. Local news matters. Local news matters. Local news matters.

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Emily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑 @emilylhauser.bsky.social · 6d

Sooooo, like lots of folks who got laid off bc of DJT, I'm still looking for work. Suboptimal!

And so! If you're looking for an excellent progressive writer with years of experience reporting, analyzing, & contextualizing the news under her own byline + as a comms writer w/ progressive causes, hmu!

www.linkedin.com

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Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 7d

An Oak Park attorney who was arrested near his child’s school says federal agents pointed a gun at him, had “Chiraq Team 2” group chat. He had been whistling and honking horn to warn people of their presence.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/23/o...

Oak Park attorney arrested near school says federal agents pointed gun at him, had ‘Chiraq Team 2’ group chat

Federal immigration agents arrested Scott Sakiyama outside his child’s Oak Park elementary school this week after he followed them and honked his horn to warn others of their presence.

www.chicagotribune.com

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 9d

NEW: 200+ Chicago-area clergy — Protestants, Catholics, and evangelicals — have signed a letter decrying ICE's efforts and voicing a willingness to put their "bodies on the line" for migrants.

"What Kristi Noem and her ICE agents are doing is immoral," they write. religionnews.com/2025/10/21/a...

(RNS) - Last Friday (Oct. 17), the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area, stood alongside other protesters demonstrating outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. As a line of Illinois State Police began marching toward her and other demonstrators, gripping wooden batons, footage shows the pastor with her hands raised in prayer.
Officers then pushed into the protesters, forcing them back.
One officer shifted his stance, reared back and began shoving his baton like a battering ram - jamming it repeatedly, Kardon says, into her leg. A few seconds later, the pastor was pulled from the crowd and thrown to the ground.
All the while, Kardon says, she never stopped praying. When officers began to arrest her, they tied her arms behind her back and placed her along the curb.
"I said, 'God, please help these people to know that what they're doing is wrong, and help them to turn around," Kardon, who leads United Church of Rogers Park in Chicago, said in an interview. Her leg, she said, has developed visible bruises.

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 9d

Oak Park resident Scott Sakiyama reports feds pointed weapons at him across from an elementary school today. They then arrested him and took him to Broadview. While in custody, he saw agents texting in a group chat called "Chiraq Team 2."

Full testimony: www.facebook.com/share/p/1GqB...

This morning masked ICE agents pulled me out of my car at gun-point, threw me in the back of a van and took me to their facility in Broadview. I had been following the van down Harvard honking my horn and blowing a whistle to alert the community that ICE was in the neighborhood.

Just across from Lincoln elementary school, where my daughter is in second grade, they jumped out of their van with guns drawn and threatened to smash my windows.

They removed me from my car and drove me to Broadview.

They tried to determine if I was an American citizen (I am). After sitting handcuffed in the van for about 30 minutes, they issued me a citation for "impeding" them, claiming I cut them off (which is not true). They then drove me back to my car. While in their van, I could see they were receiving text messages that were part of a group chat called "Chiraq Team 2." They also stated they also spoke to someone on their phone saying they were going to meet someone else near where they were dropping me off, and that they were going to proceed to conduct enforcement activities with that person.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 22d

NEW: I spoke to clergy and faith leaders who've joined protests at the Chicago-area ICE facility.

Three say they've been shot with pepper balls, sometimes while praying.

All say ICE is also violating their religious freedom, and one is arguing it in court. religionnews.com/2025/10/07/i...

Religious protesters say ICE threatens religious freedom in Chicago

(RNS) — Despite potential danger, religious leaders and faith activists have been a visible presence at Chicago-area ICE protests, some waving signs with slogans such as ‘Love thy neighbor’ and ‘Who w...

religionnews.com

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Apr 16

It's almost like it was never about state's rights

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Apr 16

I'm back to posting while my kid watches TV...since when does Miles have a little sister?

a cartoon spider man is hanging upside down from a rope in a disney junior ad

ALT: a cartoon spider man is hanging upside down from a rope in a disney junior ad

media.tenor.com

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Mar 30

While everyone is marveling over the Yankees' 9HR game and 20-9 win over the Brewers, they're overlooking the 5 errors. Their inability to play clean baseball lost them the World Series and will cause problems when they're not hitting BP during games.

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Mar 19

How the Tribune describes Ohtani's home run: "Sitting in right-center field on Wednesday night at the Tokyo Dome, he watched Shohei Ohtani’s home run in the fifth inning fall off the hands of another fan nearby — and back onto the field."

How was this not fan interference?

Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Mar 14

When you try to justify handing the keys to the car thief. #VoteNODurbin

Senator Dick Durbin @durbin.senate.gov · Mar 14

There is very little about this CR that I like—but there is even less I like about a government shutdown. With Trump & Musk taking a chainsaw to the government’s workforce & illegally freezing funding, the last thing we need to do is plunge our country into further chaos by shutting down the govt.

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Feb 5

This fits into the right's whole refusal to acknowledge that the most vocal opponents to their agenda are often their fellow Christians and people of faith.

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Ryan Turnbull @ryankturnbull.bsky.social · Jan 23

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Jan 23

Also worth noting that in addition to religious leaders and members of Congress speaking in support of Bishop Budde, more than 30,000 people across the country have signed a thank you letter addressed to the Bishop in under 24 hours: act.faithfulamerica.org/sign/thank-y...

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Faithful America @faithfulamerica.bsky.social · Jan 22

On Bishop Budde, the over-the-top reaction from Donald Trump and his friends, and the religious right's kryptonite -- a thread:

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde confronts Trump in sermon

At a sermon preached to President Trump at Washington National Cathedral, Bishop Mariann Budde asked him to "have mercy" on people who are "scared," including LGBTQ+ children.

www.npr.org

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Nov 16

Have they looked at Trump's past? Because I didn't realize this mattered to them.

CNN @cnn.com · Nov 16

President-elect Trump’s transition team was in the middle of announcing new Cabinet picks this week when they were informed of a sexual assault allegation about one of his previous selections, Pete Hegseth, stunning several members of Trump’s team, according to two people close to the situation.

Trump’s transition team caught off guard by Hegseth allegation | CNN Politics

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team was in the middle of announcing new Cabinet picks this week when they were informed of a sexual assault allegation about one of his previous selections, ...

cnn.it

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Nov 14

Me right now

a piece of paper with the words to do inhale exhale inhale exhale on it

ALT: a piece of paper with the words to do inhale exhale inhale exhale on it

media.tenor.com

Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Nov 14

I need the National Weather Service and the MLB to move over before I can completely turn off the other app.

Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Nov 14

I once forgot the water

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Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Nov 13

a woman in a red hat is saying i cannot find the words to say how i feel

ALT: a woman in a red hat is saying i cannot find the words to say how i feel

media.tenor.com

Shannon Craig Straw @shannonstraw.bsky.social · Nov 14

He's still talking about meeting @nico_hoerner. Here's what he wrote for his back to school project. https://twitter.com/ShannonStraw/status/1824242544881873254