Amy Qin

Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job The Social Security inspector general’s office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, said people familia...

Gift Link: wapo.st/4bAFCQZ

The next redistricting battle might be who is counted in state legislative districts A Republican push to alter the census may lead to a radical shift in redistricting for state legislatures — drawing districts that don't take into account children and non-U.S. citizen adults.

My latest @npr.org story: The Republican push to alter the #2030Census may lead to a radical shift in redistricting for state legislatures — drawing districts that don’t take into account children and non-U.S. citizen adults
www.npr.org/2026/03/09/n...

At Largest ICE Detention Camp, Staff Bet on Detainee Suicides, AP Reports Camp East Montana has received several 911 calls in the span of five months about immigrants trying to harm themselves.

Staff at the nation’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility have placed bets on which detainee will be the next to die by suicide, according to new reporting from the Associated Press based on 911 calls and detainee accounts.

Ruben Ray Martinez: Footage shows US citizen shot by ICE agent in Texas traffic stop The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose Martinez was shot by one of its agents until almost a year later.

Newly released footage shows an ICE agent killing Rubin Ray Martinez, 23, in his car in Texas.

"He was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger."
www.bbc.com/news/article...

ICE arrested an Oregon shop owner who had her green card in her pocket: ‘They didn’t care’ Juanita Avila later helped expose ICE’s ‘arrest first, justify later’ tactics in a lawsuit that won a major victory for immigrants’ rights

NEW: ICE tackled + arrested Juanita Avila, an Oregon shop owner who is a legal permanent resident and had her green card in her pocket.

When she asked through sobs why they didn't believe her, one masked agent replied: “Because they lie all the time.”

Video + interview with her and her daughter:

Hey! I’m at #NICAR26. Say hi if you’re here too!

Also on a panel this afternoon at 3:45 — Data in the world of audio — with the wonderful @jjw.bsky.social @hannahereale.bsky.social @claytonguse.bsky.social

Come to learn about how to talk about data on air and make sound rich data features!

A deeply underreported story. I know so many people struggling to pay their electric bills

Cook County, Illinois - Migration Dashboard - BirdCast Explore nightly migration data in your region

#BirdLinks
Migration Dashboard is back! Spring is springing!

dashboard.birdcast.org/region/US-IL...

The Chicago real estate firm leasing an empty prison to ICE Highlands Real Estate Investment Trust looks to profit from President Trump's anti-immigrant agenda.

new: highlands reit, a small chicago-based real estate firm, is renting an empty prison it owns in colorado to ice and private prison giant geo group.

highlands is part of a network of private contractors hoping to get a cut of the $45 billion allocated to warehouse immigrants through 2029.

A network is racing to save the Midwest’s native seeds As climate change intensifies wildfires and other extreme weather events, demand for native seeds is surging.

"These species genetically adapted over thousands of years and sustain the region’s ecosystems. That evolutionary inheritance makes them indispensable for restoring the nation’s remaining prairies, wetlands, and woodlands." Latest from @juanpab.bsky.social

www.wbez.org/environment/...

This is the second time a cop has charged with abusing ALPR data to stalk a former partner. (It is not the second time it has happened).

FWIW: cops abusing data to stalk partners is one of the most common reasons they are arrested.

More than 20 Sun-Times Guild members wear shirts with the Guild logo at the CPM office.

Guild members pose for a photo at the CPM office ahead of bargaining.

Chicago’s fake spring may be coming to a close, but that just means it’s bargaining season!

Today marked the start of negotiations to ensure Chicago Public Media respects and protects the Sun-Times Guild journalists bringing you hard-hitting local news.

Meta Begins $65 Million Election Push to Advance A.I. Agenda

"Meta is preparing to spend $65 M this year to boost state politicians who are friendly to the AI industry...To do that, Meta is quietly starting two new super PACs... The new PACs join two others already started by Meta, one of which is focused on California" www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/t...

How many Chicagoans are from the countries Bad Bunny named in his Super Bowl halftime show? The Puerto Rican musician’s message of unity likely struck a chord with hundreds of thousands of Chicago residents.

www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Front page of the Chicago Sun Times on Thursday, February 12 with a headline that reads: 'Together we are' Chicago

Bad Bunny’s closing message builds on a centuries-old critique of the United States as the sole “America" local experts told me.

Data shows 1 out of 8 Chicagoans was born outside of the 50 U.S. states but in the countries and territories that make up the Western Hemisphere.

BREAKING: Platform Ventures Backs Down From ICE Detention Center Sale After Weeks of Mass Organizing and Protest – The Kansas City Defender The people won. For now.

collaborators suddenly realize that they could cancel their contract for a concentration camp after insisting it wasn’t possible. a world of fascists who have never felt pushback once in their life, suddenly stunned to see everyone hates them. makes you think!

kansascitydefender.com/justice/plat...

Hello! If you tune into 91.5 fm today at either 5:04 pm or 6:32 pm you might hear a little bit of joyous sound from the Benito Bowl on All Things Considered from yours truly ☺️

Listen online here: www.wbez.org

Chicago police officer involved in Dexter Reed shooting accused of threatening detective at NW Side bar Officer Thomas Spanos and another cop allegedly picked a fight with the detective early Saturday at Tommy’s on Higgins, according to a police report. The detective called 911 and reported that veiled ...

NEWS: One of the Chicago police officers who fatally shot Dexter Reed during a traffic stop in 2024 has now been accused of threatening to beat up a fellow cop at a Norwood Park bar over the weekend.

Story by @sophiesherry.bsky.social

chicago.suntimes.com/dexter-reed/...

These are the high schoolers taking a stand against ICE: ‘You can’t let despair take over’ Thousands of students across the US have been walking out of their schools to protest ICE in their communities

for my latest @us.theguardian.com talked to teens leading and joining anti-ICE walkouts from TX to MD to WI.

one NYC teen: "I feel scared [of ICE] every day... But I’m not going to let that stop me, because bravery is just the positive way to say you’re scared, and I’d rather be brave than scared."

Bad Bunny taps Chicago conductor to lead surprise orchestra in Super Bowl halftime show

Giancarlo Guerrero, artistic director and principal conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival, in what he called a “beautiful surprise,” had nine days notice to join the top-secret musical lineup of the Super Bowl halftime show, which featured powerhouse vocalists Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

Chicago-area Asians were arrested in Midway Blitz. They kept quiet about it, for a while. Stigma and a false sense of security have kept families from speaking publicly about immigration enforcement. The daughter of a deported man says "staying silent ... hurts you more than anything."

More than 140 Asian immigrants were arrested during the first few weeks of Operation Midway Blitz. Powerful reporting from @estheryjkang.bsky.social

www.wbez.org/immigration/...

“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end...

Please take the time to read what the children detained in Dilley wrote me in their own words: www.propublica.org/article/ice-... 10/

"God Bless America:" then he lists most of the countries in the hemisphere starting with Chile I think? this rules

PHOTOS: Joliet students protest against ICE Hundreds of Joliet Central and Joliet West high school students took to the streets to protest the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of a nationwide student walkout on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.

Hundreds of Joliet Central and Joliet West high school students took to the streets to protest the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of a nationwide student walkout on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.

Federal judge will let Marimar Martinez release text messages sent by Border Patrol agent who shot her U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis pointed out that Martinez is "presumed innocent of any offense of which she has not been convicted." Martinez's attorney said the text messages and other evidence ...

DEVELOPING: Federal judge will let Marimar Martinez release text messages sent by Border Patrol agent who shot her

From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/2026/02/06/f...

Thanks for reading! That's a great point. I'll see if I can add that to the tooltip of the online graphic.

Bar chart graphic showing that suburbs gained nonwhite residents while the city lost them, based on the percentage change in population by race and ethnicity from 2005-2009 to 2020-2024

One data point I want to highlight: Overall, an increase of more than 600,000 nonwhite suburban residents over the last two decades completely offset the region’s loss of white suburban residents.

Also, I think this graphic says a lot:

Dozens of Chicago suburbs have shifted to majority nonwhite Flossmoor and Lansing are now majority-Black, while Burbank and Franklin Park are now majority-Latino, according to a WBEZ analysis of new census data.

Took a data deep dive on Chicago area suburbs, where social services infrastructure sometimes don't keep up with how quickly the population is diversifying racially but also economically and culturally.
www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Quantum leap or community crossroads? - Chicago Reader Residents organize around the quantum computing megadevelopment planned for Chicago’s southeast side.

new: the first piece in a @chicagoreader.com’s series on quantum shore chicago looks at community resistance to the megadevelopment.

contributor grey lucas traces the neighborhood’s history of fighting disinvestment and environmental racism from the former south works steel plant to present-day.