Chip Mitchell

This Chicago candidate may be wonderful but, um, needs an editor.

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chicago.suntimes.comFinance Committee backs $260.8M global settlement to resolve cases linked to disgraced cop Reynaldo GuevaraThe settlement approved Monday by a unanimous voice vote would resolve16 police misconduct lawsuits and compensate 17 plaintiffs framed for murders by corrupt former Chicago police Detective Reynaldo ...

57 people with convictions tied to this detective have been exonerated. #Chicago, Cook County and Illinois have already paid $185 million in settlements, jury awards and compensation, @wbez.org found. The City Council panel OKed deals lifting the sum to $446 mil. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...

chicago.suntimes.comChicago cop charged with punching teenage girl during confrontation shown in viral videoSgt. Jeremy Sikorski attacked the 17-year-old girl after confronting a group of teenagers who got into an altercation with at least one of his children, according to prosecutors. The girl suffered a c...

#Chicago #police Sgt. Jeremy Sikorski, 45, of Garfield Ridge faces felony charges for allegedly punching a 17-year-old as she filmed him threatening a group of Southwest Side kids, @sophiesherry.bsky.social reports. The girl was diagnosed with a concussion. chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

wbez.orgMayoral candidates decry Chicago violence ‘crisis,’ even as summer murders hit 61-year lowChicago had 122 murders in June, July and August, the lowest summer total since 1965, according to city and police data. But in their mayoral quests, candidates keep stoking public anxiety about viole...

2 Sept

#Chicago had its fewest June-August murders since 1965. Overall violent crime is lower than any year in more than four decades. But candidates trying to replace @ChicagosMayor keep stoking public anxiety about a public safety "crisis." @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com www.wbez.org/criminal-jus...

nytimes.comMichigan Senate Candidate, a Former Trump Critic, Shifts Toward Election SkepticismMike Rogers, the Republican nominee, has suggested that further scrutiny of the 2020 election was warranted and that voting irregularities sank his first Senate bid two years ago.

10 Aug

This @bethreinhard.bsky.social report on the #Michigan GOP nominee for U.S. Senate is interesting but the headline, deck and captions avoid naming Rogers an election denier. He is merely “skeptical” of election results and wants “scrutiny” of “irregularities.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/u...

@shannonheffernan.bsky.social

3 Aug

FEWEST JULY MURDERS SINCE 1963 #Chicago tallied 37 #murders in July. A @wbez.org analysis of police data finds there has been no July with fewer murders since 1963. Looking at all of 2026, murders are up 2% from 2025, a year that ended with the lowest Chicago murder count in six decades.

Chip Mitchell reposted

Shannon Heffernan

24 July

Over the last three years there have been more than 70 fires at an Illinois prison, including 12 cases of self-immolation. One man needed a skin graft. Another lost a leg. Two have died. A new investigation below. www.themarshallproject.org/2026/07/24/p...

themarshallproject.orgA Prison on FireDesigned to help people with serious mental illness, Joliet Treatment Center repeatedly failed to prevent or respond to fires, despite two deaths.

Chip Mitchell reposted

Katie Prout

@katieprout.bsky.social

31 July

“I was confused the whole time because I’m not dangerous if I plead guilty, but I’m dangerous because I maintain my innocence.”

Chip Mitchell@chipmitchell1.bsky.social

After decades behind bars, Ivy Kelly was given a choice: Walk free, or keep fighting to clear his name. I met him inside Cook County Jail to hear about his decision. @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com #murder #prisons #innocence #twill #Chicago #Illinois www.wbez.org/criminal-jus...

wbez.orgAfter decades behind bars, Ivy Kelly was given a choice: Walk free or keep fighting to clear his nameA deal offered by prosecutors would have required Kelly to admit guilt following a murder trial tainted by a corrupt detective and ineffective counsel. Our reporter met Kelly inside the Cook County Ja...

31 July

wbez.orgBill on Pritzker’s desk would boost state payments to the wrongfully convictedThe legislation would hike the maximum payout to $50,000 for each year spent behind bars and $25,000 per year on probation or parole, or under an order to register as a sex offender. “This will make a...

17 July

Wherefore we, of all who walk the earth?

Chip Mitchell reposted

Joel

@joelflaxman.bsky.social

30 June

I’m quoted in this article on an important bill to improve Illinois’s system for compensating the wrongfully convicted.

Chip Mitchell@chipmitchell1.bsky.social

A bill awaiting @govpritzker.illinois.gov's signature could boost #Illinois payments to wrongfully incarcerated people and, for the first time, make children eligible for the compensation, @wbez.org reports. #twill www.wbez.org/politics/202...

30 June

wbez.orgNew book finds entrenched Chicago police racism behind Cook County’s wrongful convictions

1 June

#CPD data show #Chicago in May had 36 #murders, @wbez.org reports. If the figure holds, it’ll be two fewer than May 2025 (38) and the lowest May total since 2007 (34). Year to date, murders are up slightly (5.7%) from 2025. That year ended with the city’s lowest murder count in six decades.

Chip Mitchell reposted

WBEZ

@wbez.org

12 May

Brown University’s Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve argues that false confessions stem from something more pernicious than shoddy law enforcement.

12 May

In a new book about Cook County (America's wrongful-conviction capital), Brown University’s @nvancleve argues that false confessions stem from something more pernicious than shoddy law enforcement. #Chicago #CPD www.wbez.org/criminal-jus...

wbez.orgMan’s bid for a retrial in boy’s murder hinges on ex-Chicago cop’s alleged ties to Gitmo tortureA Cook County judge heard closing arguments Monday over a petition from Anthony Garrett, convicted of fatally shooting 7-year-old Dantrell Davis in 1992. Garrett's attorneys said former Detective Rich...

12 May

A man who says #Chicago #police beat him into confessing to the 1992 murder of a 7-year-old boy is a step closer to learning whether he’ll get a new trial. His fate hinges on the lead detective’s alleged ties to #torture at the U.S. detention camp in #Cuba. @wbez.org www.wbez.org/criminal-jus...

Chip Mitchell reposted

chicago.suntimes.comWhen immigration agents arrested a Chicago mother, a stranger stepped in to care for her 3 kidsThe three siblings had fended for themselves for nearly four weeks on the Southwest Side. Isabel Conde, 27, couldn’t find adults in their lives to take them in. So she did it herself.

3 May

Make sure to click listen to hear this moving storytelling from @wbez.org’s @chipmitchell1.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

1 May

Read or tap the red "Listen" button on top to hear the story in the format (audio) for which it was conceived. Thanks @pksmid.bsky.social!

Patrick Smith@pksmid.bsky.social

Please take the time to read this from @chipmitchell1.bsky.social -- a powerful tale and incredible storytelling.

nbcnews.comLive updates: Trump warns Iran that Hormuz deadline is finalFollow live coverage of the Iran war, the global energy crisis, Trump's threats and ceasefire talks.

6 Apr

As #Trump threatens strikes on civilian targets in #Iran, the November video from Democratic veterans urging military members to disobey illegal orders becomes newly relevant. www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/l...

theguardian.comHe spent years investigating Opus Dei, a Catholic group accused of a vast conspiracy of abuse. Then Pope Leo asked to meetGareth Gore’s 2024 book Opus alleges decades of manipulation, which the group has denied. He believes the pope wanted to send a clear message

6 Apr

A reporter who exposed inner workings of rightist #Catholic cult #OpusDei lauds #PopeLeo for inviting him to meet: “The #Vatican helped create this monster, not least Pope John Paul II, [who] saw them almost like his personal green berets.” @garethgore.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

chicago.suntimes.comCHA Commissioner Debra Parker drops lawsuit against the housing authority, ending fight to keep voucherParker said she is “moving out” of the South Side unit she rents with the housing voucher so the CHA could provide that benefit to “somebody else who may need it more than me.” She has been accused of...

31 Mar

It takes integrity, grit and stamina to report stories like this. #Chicago is lucky to have @dmihalopoulos.bsky.social. @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com

Dan Mihalopoulos@dmihalopoulos.bsky.social

Longtime CHA board member Debra Parker drops lawsuit days after @wbez.org and @chicago.suntimes.com obtained internal report detailing accusations vs Parker chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

chicago.suntimes.comA Northwestern study claims to support trans youths' well-being, but some disagreeThe study, led by psychology professor J. Michael Bailey, could fuel more legislation to push trans people to the margins, trans advocates say.

31 Mar

ICYMI, #Northwestern study claims to support #trans youth but, two years in, the researchers have yet to recruit many parents who support their child’s identity. The lead researcher has touted theory that trans women are feminine gay men & sex fetishists. @vimiller.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com

wbez.orgCryptocurrency, AI join in $31 million super PAC blitz in four congressional primariesTogether with pro-Israel funds, the tech money is swamping Democratic rivals in the Chicago area and, according to one government watchdog, distorting democracy.

16 Mar

Since our story Friday, shady "super PACs" have reported spending millions more in four Chicago-area Democratic primaries for U.S. House. Topped by pro-Israel, crypto and AI interests, the spending now exceeds $33.9 million. @wbez.org @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social www.wbez.org/government-p...

1/4 A few notes about our finding that “super PACs” — topped by pro-Israel, cryptocurrency and artificial-intelligence interests — have spent more than $31.4 million to influence voters ahead of primaries Tuesday in four Chicago-area U.S. House races. www.wbez.org/government-p...

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3/4 CONTEXT: The money is stunning compared to 2022, the last time Chicago-area Democrats competed in U.S. House primaries with no incumbent. In that election cycle, Jonathan Jackson benefited from $1.1 million in super PAC support. Delia Ramirez got a $1.5 million boost. Both won their race.

4/4 I RANKED THE CANDIDATES across all four of the congressional races by super-PAC funds supporting and opposing them, according to federal disclosures through Thursday.

2/4 THE SUM KEEPS SOARING: After we finished our story Thursday, a group tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee reported spending $1.1 million against Junaid Ahmed (in the 8th District) and Kat Abughazaleh (9th). The two face AIPAC favs Melissa Bean (8th) and Laura Fine (9th).

Topped by pro-#Israel, #crypto and #AI interests, national groups spend >$31.4 million to sway #Chicago-area voters ahead of #Democratic primaries Tuesday in four U.S. House races. @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com @mawaiq98.bsky.social @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social #twill www.wbez.org/government-p...

wbez.orgPro-Israel group’s donors and affiliates pour $13.7 million into Chicago-area primariesA WBEZ survey of the 46 Democratic congressional candidates in four key races shows the few hopefuls getting AIPAC-linked support would not answer yes or no on putting strict conditions on U.S. milita...

27 Feb

You may have heard about #AIPAC trying to influence four #Chicago-area congressional races. But you need to see the scale and effects. This @wbez.org / @chicago.suntimes.com investigation is revealing. #Israel #Gaza @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social www.wbez.org/politics/202...

wbez.orgEx-Chicago Det. Richard Zuley denies torturing out confession to 7-year-old Dantrell Davis’s murderZuley has ties to alleged coercion of suspects in Chicago and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He testified as part of State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s effort to block Anthony Garrett’s bid for a retrial....

19 Feb

A retired #CPD detective accused of leading #torture at #Gitmo insists he used no coercion to get a man’s confession to a 7-year-old’s murder. He’s testifying for State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office, which is fighting the man’s bid for a retrial. @wbez.org. www.wbez.org/criminal-jus...

wbez.orgRiver North developer holds big fundraising lead in Democratic fight to replace U.S. Rep. Danny DavisJason Friedman's cash advantage stands out in 13-way congressional primary as one top rival condemns him for having "never been a partner in this fight" to lift up the West Side.

12 Feb

A River North developer has leapt far ahead in fundraising to take over U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’s seat in Congress. Jason Friedman, one of 13 candidates in the Democratic primary, would be the district’s first white rep in 53 years. @wbez.org @mitchtrout.bsky.social www.wbez.org/politics/202...

nytimes.comMinneapolis Residents Wear Their Passports, Desperate to Ward Off ICE

31 Jan

U.S. citizens are canceling trips abroad out of fear the Trump admin will seize their passport. This Twin Cities mother rarely leaves her home even. If she does, she tries to go with white friends or her “more racially ambiguous” kids. #KavanaughStops www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/u...

wbez.orgAfter Trump’s deportation blitz rips apart a Chicago-area family, a school official steps upImmigration arrests since the president took office have separated countless parents from their children. A suburban school district administrator heard that some former students were in crisis. She d...

28 Jan

#Immigration arrests since #Trump took office have torn countless parents from their kids. When a suburban #Chicago school administrator heard that some former students of her district were in crisis, she decided to help. @icirr.bsky.social @nijc.bsky.social @wbez.org www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Chip Mitchell reposted

wbez.orgTranscript: Gregory Bovino says arrestees in Downtown Chicago chosen based partly on ‘how they look’WBEZ spoke with the U.S. Border Patrol commander about a deportation blitz in the Loop and River North. He said our report took his comments out of context. Here is the transcript and unedited audio r...

15 Jan

Replying to @dmihalopoulos.bsky.social

What Noem continues to insist today… also was completely contradicted by what Bovino told my colleague @chipmitchell1.bsky.social on Michigan Avenue in Chicago Chicago in September www.wbez.org/immigration/...

wbez.orgBorder Patrol agent’s camera captures detainee’s lament: ‘We don’t have the opportunity that you have’Dozens of hours of body-camera footage offer a new lens into clashes between immigration agents and the public during "Operation Midway Blitz" on the Northwest Side.

19 Dec 2025

A #BorderPatrol agent’s camera captures a detainee’s lament: ‘We don’t have the opportunity that you have.’ More than 40 hours of bodycam footage offers a new lens into #Chicago clashes between #immigration agents and the public. @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com www.wbez.org/public-safet...

facebook.com119K views · 968 reactions | 🚨 ALERTA: PATRULLA FRONTERIZA EN CICERO ESTA MAÑANA — Están llegando reportes de que la Patrulla Fronteriza ya llegó y que esta mañana ya la vieron en Cicero en Home Depot...🚨 ALERTA: PATRULLA FRONTERIZA EN CICERO ESTA MAÑANA — Están llegando reportes de que la Patrulla Fronteriza ya llegó y que esta mañana ya la vieron en Cicero en Home Depot. Les voy a estar avisando...

5 Dec 2025

Extraordinary footage 1/2: A construction worker, surrounded by #BorderPatrol agents in a #HomeDepot parking lot near #Chicago, stands on the roof of a van. Agents try to climb up. The worker jumps to the pavement and runs away. www.facebook.com/reel/3162164...

5 Dec 2025

Extraordinary footage 2/2: Agents give chase. It's unclear whether they catch the worker. Listen to the sounds of the onlookers. www.facebook.com/reel/8319288...

facebook.comfacebook.com

Chip Mitchell reposted

wbez.orgProtester says dismissed assault case shows Border Patrol chief is dishonest: ‘His word means nothing’Cole Sheridan was charged with assaulting Gregory Bovino in Broadview, but prosecutors tossed the case after a video appeared to contradict Bovino’s account. Several similar cases have been dismissed ...

2 Dec 2025

The protester faced prison — but the charges got dropped right after video emerged. Cole Sheridan told his story to @chipmitchell1.bsky.social www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Chip Mitchell reposted

Jim Daley

@jimdaleywrites.bsky.social

5 Dec 2025

Failed mayoral candidate Ja'mal Green is once again claiming on social media that @thetriibe.com's story on how Paul Vallas’s campaign paid him is untrue. I edited that story; @tonia.thetriibe.com reported it. So once again: here are the receipts. bit.ly/JaymalPaid

chicago.suntimes.com‘His word means nothing’: Protester says dismissed assault case shows Border Patrol chief is dishonest

28 Nov 2025

‘HIS WORD MEANS NOTHING’: Cole Sheridan, 27, was charged with assaulting U.S. #BorderPatrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino near a Chicago-area immigration enforcement facility, but federal prosecutors dropped the case after a video seemed to contradict Bovino’s account. @wbez.org www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Chip Mitchell reposted

Chicago Sun-Times

@chicago.suntimes.com

28 Nov 2025

Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino arrested a protester on charges of assaulting a federal officer at a Broadview immigration facility, but video evidence later contradicted his account and showed the protester being pushed to the ground instead.

Chip Mitchell reposted

WBEZ

@wbez.org

28 Nov 2025

Cole Sheridan was charged with assaulting Gregory Bovino in Broadview, but prosecutors tossed the case after a video appeared to contradict Bovino’s account. Several similar cases have been dismissed against Chicago-area protesters and immigrants.

wbez.orgProtester says dismissed assault case shows Border Patrol chief is dishonest: ‘His word means nothing’

wbez.orgTear gas, car crashes, chokeholds: Risky tactics have driven Trump’s Chicago deportation ‘blitz’Law enforcement experts say federal agents have displayed a lack of training and restraint. “They’re out of control,” ex-police Supt. Garry McCarthy says.

14 Nov 2025

Incidents in Chicago deportation blitz: 8 with car chases 19 with collisions 12 with forced entries 36 with tackling 16 with strikes 4 with kneeling on back/neck 5 with chokeholds 9 with spraying 18 with pepper balls 14 with tear gas 5 with stun grenades 4 with tasering www.wbez.org/immigration/...

chicago.suntimes.comTear gas, car crashes, rubber bullets: Risky tactics have driven Trump’s Chicago deportation ‘blitz’Law enforcement experts say federal agents have displayed a lack of training and restraint. “They’re out of control,” ex-police Supt. Garry McCarthy says.

14 Nov 2025

Tear gas, car crashes, chokeholds: Risky tactics drive Trump’s #Chicago deportation blitz. Law enforcement experts say federal agents show a lack of training and restraint. “They’re out of control,” ex-CPD Supt. Garry McCarthy sez. @chicago.suntimes.com @wbez.org chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

wbez.orgTrump's claims about murder rates and illegal immigration fit red states more than blue statesAs federal immigration agents carry out the president's “Operation Midway Blitz” in Democrat-led Illinois — a "blue state" — a WBEZ and Sun-Times analysis shows other Republican-led "red states" have ...

7 Nov 2025

The #Trump team carries out its #deportation blitz in Democratic-led #Illinois in the name of fighting crime. But Republican-led states have higher murder and violent crime rates—and faster-growing populations of unauthorized #immigrants. @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com www.wbez.org/immigration/...

chicago.suntimes.comWatch how government propaganda techniques portray Chicago as a city at war with the fedsThe government’s social media storytelling doesn’t always match what’s happening across the city and suburbs. The diverging sources of information are creating “parallel universes," professor Nick Cul...

7 Nov 2025

PARALLEL UNIVERSE: The #Trump administration hones #propaganda techniques to build public support for its #deportation blitz in #Chicago. Don't miss this deconstruction by Nader Issa of the @chicago.suntimes.com. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

chicago.suntimes.comTrump taps big City Hall contractors for ICE operation Brandon Johnson opposes“We do have to take this seriously and make sure that we are not collaborating by hiring or benefiting companies that are acting against us,” said Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33rd).

30 Oct 2025

#Chicago-area firms that earned lucrative contracts backing #Trump’s #deportation push have also benefited from deals with the city. City Council member @ward33chicago.bsky.social is calling for a review. @schuba.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Chip Mitchell reposted