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Trump and his allies in local governments have been fighting to defund everything from health care to education — fights we’ve been covering at Truthout for as long as they’ve existed. But we can’t just work to protect existing public goods; we need to fuel the push for more.

We’re launching this series to shine a light on the visionary organizing to win control over public funding and public goods, while shifting the balance of power away from the ultrawealthy toward the rest of us.

In Chicago, organizers came together to win the biggest improvements in their public transit they’ve seen in 40 years. New legislation raises $1.5 billion in new revenue and creates a unified agency to better connect transit service across the region.

After a 12-year-long grassroots push by advocacy groups and activists, the state of New Mexico in 2025 made headlines for being the first in the nation to enact free universal child care. Now the challenge is to make sure teachers are paid a living wage.