Jeremy Karpen is running for Illinois Assembly against a corporate lobbyist-funded Chicago machine insider. His election would be a huge victory for Illinois progressives – and a sign of good things to come for progressives across the country.

This diary is a summary of the law pertaining to the federal grand jury.

Weeks after the FBI raided their home, two Chicago
activists, Stephanie Weiner and Joe Iosbaker, stood before a crowd of about 150
Chicagoans gathered outside the Dirksen Federal Building and declared during a
press conference they, and twelve others who were subpoenaed, have no intention to go before any grand juries and participate in a “fishing expedition.”

Local media, and voters in Chicago, were not kind to Rahm Emanuel on his first day back in town for his ‘listening tour™’ (credit Hillary Clinton) to hear what voters think about his candidacy. Between the hand-sanitizer on camera and the discovery that his “I’m baaaaack!” video was made at his home in DC, things are a little bumpy for Rahm, to say the least. DNC Chair, anyone?

One Nation

“Here’s a question for you…the city of Chicago seems to be a bastion of progressivism, seeing as how 76% of Cook County voted for Obama in the 2008 elections. Is it hard to find people who think like you (i.e. libertarian) in your social circles in Chicago? Thanks,” asked by arcoles4 via YouTube.

Today’s developments reported about the Blagojevich jury do not support jumping to the conclusion that there has been some epic fail on the part of the prosecution. They don’t support the opposite conclusion either. Take a deep breath people, breathe!

The “DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama” is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Tania Unzueta and I’m undocumented.

I have lived in Chicago since I was 10 years old. I came with my mother to join my father, who had found a stable job and a promise to legalize his status. Eventually our tourist visas ran out, and my family became undocumented.

Hotel workers from Chicago supported and participated in a nonviolent civil disobedience action aimed at calling attention to the Hyatt Hotel chain’s working conditions on Thursday evening. The action was part of a nationally organized plan to target Hyatt and call attention to its lack of fairness and respect toward workers.

What may be the only FCC public hearing on the Comcast-NBC merger was held Tuesday, July 13th. The following is a report from the hearing that shows how nonprofit organizations were enlisted by Comcast to distract from the possible impact if FCC approves of this media consolidation move.