Dan Hinkel

I don't think you could look anymore serious if you were trying to catch a human baby

“It’s not safe but he doesn't give a fuck because he’s here for the vibes—and that’s everybody in New Orleans.” Friends have been texting me this link all day, and no wonder. It's an excellent profile by an excellent writer about an excellent band.

@injusticewatch.org and @theintercept.com revealed who confined Valentina Galvis and her baby – a U.S. citizen – in an O’Hare hotel for five days last summer. Now, Galvis is suing the ICE contractor, MVM Inc., and the hotel chain for false imprisonment. buff.ly/CKqxnY4

The Chicago City Council just approved a $261 million settlement with 17 people who alleged disgraced Det. Guevara framed them for murder. One of those 17 men is Tyrece Williams. I detailed his battle to finally clear his name in the @injusticewatch.org & @boltsmag.org story below.

Senior reporter @danhinkel.bsky.social was a recent guest on Outside the Loop Radio discussing our Cook County judicial election guide. bit.ly/otlradio1042

Over at Former Clarity I talk about seeing Pinhead Gunpowder, listening to too much Godflesh, and like a dozen other things.

Thank you to Jacoby Cochran and City Cast Chicago for having me on to discuss our free nonpartisan guide to the upcoming judicial elections in Cook County! As a bonus, I got to talk about Halloween and horror movie screenings around town.

NEW: Unlike other elected officials in Cook County, the dozens of judges up for retention this year campaign and raise money as a group. Why do judges run as a "class"? buff.ly/xnGxG2f

Want to pick up a print copy of our Cook County judicial election guide? Check out our interactive map with distribution locations across the county. buff.ly/4XvjChh

We're so excited to celebrate with you tonight! Here's what to expect: 🎟️ Free entry and food (while supplies last) 🎶 Tunes by DJ Jesse Sandwich 🎤 A convo with reporters about the judges on your ballot RSVP: buff.ly/JHyjGkq

Thanks to Mike Stephen and @wgnradio.bsky.social for having me on to discuss the Cook County judicial elections and the @injusticewatch.org guide to the candidates!

Much to see in the @injusticewatch.org newsletter, including my story on a judge seeking to keep her post after many reversals. Plus, my select recommendations for spooky movies at theaters in Oct. I will not undersell how freaky "Spoorloos/The Vanishing" is. www.injusticewatch.org/subscribe/

It's being called a "global settlement," so you might not realize there are more Detective Guevara-related lawsuits to come, likely at great cost to taxpayers. Guevara, of course, is quite challenging to defend for the city because he doesn't defend himself, instead pleading the Fifth.

My work. Judge Walowski is seeking retention following a wave of reversals by the appellate court. In one case, the court reversed a conviction because Walowski forced a defense attorney to proceed to trial as he recovered from a bout with food poisoning bad enough to call for hospitalization.

A little inclement weather does not stop us from delivering the @injusticewatch.org guide to the Cook County judicial elections. Find hard copies all over the place, or here online. www.injusticewatch.org

Drivers are criss-crossing Cook County dropping off bundles of these at book stores, coffee shops, courthouses, etc. What's inside our judicial election guide is useful and interesting, but you might want a hard copy because they just look great, courtesy of @veromartinezart.bsky.social.

This is coming up Thursday. Please come out to the Oak Park Public Library, and bring questions about Cook County judicial elections and our guide to all those judges on your ballot. Looking forward to it.

great piece. man social media is a cancer themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom...

Reminder to Check Your Judges with our nonpartisan guide to the Cook County judicial election, out now!

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Meckenburg retired from the U.S. attorney's office effective TODAY after being told by her bosses she could not file anything on her behalf in the Broadview Six case, her lawyers say

The time has come once again to Check Your Judges.

Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...

🗣️ Our Cook County judicial election guide for the November retention election will be out later this week! Want to be the first to know when it launches — and where to find it? Sign up for our newsletter. buff.ly/1nQW2OY

This year, that sounds like a threat.

RIP Gerrit Graham - who was, among many things, star of one of the lowkey scariest stunts I’ve ever seen in my life

A fascinating development that could get interesting at the city council.

Gerrit Graham had a wild, fascinating movie career, and I was lucky enough to meet him a couple times because I'm friends with his sons. As you'd imagine, a fun hang, the whole bunch. variety.com/2026/film/ne...

This is very cool.

Join senior reporter @danhinkel.bsky.social for a conversation about judicial elections at Oak Park Library. The event takes place Thurs., Oct. 1, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. RSVP: buff.ly/Z9jEkhD

🎉 Our next Cook County judicial election guide will be out later this month, ahead of the next judicial retention election. Join us for drinks, music, and a conversation with our reporters about the judges on your ballot this fall. Plus, grab a guide (or five) to take home with you. buff.ly/cXYbz1C

This, of course, calls to mind one of my favorite obscure Wisconsin storylines: The ill-fated Martinifest held at the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2006. www.latimes.com/archives/la-...

You will never see Jerry Reinsdorf's Bulls investigated for trying to give a player more money

Damn, RIP to Axl Rose's cat.

This has been the case at most solitary units in the state. But due to an “error,” men at Menard were provided tablets. As of last week, those admitted to the unit won’t have access to the devices.

NEW: Illinoisans in solitary confinement will no longer have access to outside communication, legal materials and educational programming through tablets. news.wttw.com/2026/08/31/i...

A worthwhile first-person perspective on living without power from @javonte.bsky.social

Chicago journalists of a certain vintage will remember Anthony Guglielmi as the spokesman for CPD in the chaotic years after Officer Jason Van Dyke murdered Laquan McDonald.

Come work with us (if you're cool).

My tribute to Tim Curry is that the 10 minutes of "It" I watched at age 9 on ABC kept me awake in bed for two weeks. That remains the most scared I've ever been of a movie. RIP.

My hero today is the woman I saw in the gallery in a criminal courtroom singing "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner to a baby girl held by a relative and telling the baby, "You got Fred Flintstone feet."

10-year-old Eliot McQuaide drops off flowers at a mural of Dolly Parton in the Edgewater neighborhood after she died peacefully earlier in the day in Nashville Tuesday in Chicago.

"The scale of prosecutor collaboration in Illinois — which is one of the largest sanctuary states, and often cited as a national model — raises questions about the limitations of state laws to protect immigrants." Substantial discoveries by @aurabogado.bsky.social

This brings across the painful challenges, constant frustrations and small mercies of life in Gary, Ind. right now.