Dan Vock

Dan Vock

@danvock.bsky.social

Freelance reporter. Illinoisan in D.C. Helping you understand how government works—or doesn’t. I RT Illinois news and politicians a lot. Reach me at dcvock@gmail.com Subscribe to my newsletter https://danvock.substack.com/

2.1K followers1.3K following13.6K posts

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Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

My latest story looks at the choices facing Democrats if they retake Congress, especially when it comes to reining in Trump and the executive branch vs finding common ground with Republicans on affordability questions. Lots of great quotes in here. (Gift link) www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/18/i...

chicagotribune.comIllinois Democrats wrestle with how hard to fight Trump if they retake CongressLt. Gov. Juliana Stratton vows to oppose every Trump nominee, while Donna Miller and others stress compromise. Most Illinois Democrats are cautious on impeachment but eager for aggressive oversight of...
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Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

Also left to be sorted out is the future of Highland Park’s clergy. United Methodist clergy are bound to the denomination through a covenant. If pastors choose to withdraw from the UMC, they immediately lose the right to serve a United Methodist congregation. religionnews.com/2026/10/27/o...

religionnews.comOne of the largest UMC churches in the country just voted to leave the denomination(RNS) — Highland Park United Methodist Church is locked in a bitter battle with the denomination’s regional body over issues of governance.
Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

In Highland Park’s case, theology never emerged as a reason for its differences with the denomination. The church did not attempt to disaffiliate during the four-year window when it was possible to do so. The presenting issue has more to do with control and governance.

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RNS
@rns.org

(RNS) — Retired Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann's office told RNS, 'The bishops were assured that no photographs would be made public. They came to have a discussion on important policy matters.'

religionnews.comCatholic bishops accuse White House of manipulation over prayer video(RNS) — Retired Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann's office told RNS, 'The bishops were assured that no photographs would be made public. They came to have a discussion on important policy matters.'

Dan Vock reposted

Ken McLeod
@kenmcld.bsky.social

Replying to @kenmcld.bsky.social

Deborah Archer's book, Dividing Lines: How Transportation Reinforces Racial Inequity discusses the intentional use of infrastructure to divide communities and make it difficult to move between de facto segregated communities wwnorton.com/books/978132...

wwnorton.comDividing LinesA USA TODAY BESTSELLERFrom an eminent legal scholar and the president of the ACLU, an essential account of how transportation infrastructure—from highways and roads to sidewalks and buses—became a mea...

Dan Vock reposted

Ken McLeod
@kenmcld.bsky.social

Replying to @kenmcld.bsky.social

Sidewalks, and the lack thereof, are one example of how large dangerous roads were punched through Black and brown communities without care for the people in those communities Lack of transit, or only letting some buses from some places access places like malls are other examples of segregation

Dan Vock reposted

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ordered a police investigation into alleged ties between a donor network co-founded by JD Vance and the presidential campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro in the run-up to Sunday's election.

washingtonpost.comBrazilian judge orders investigation into JD Vance donor networkA presidential candidate in Brazil alleged that Vance’s Rockbridge Network discussed potential aid to the campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro. Rockbridge denies involvement.

Dan Vock reposted

Gregory Pratt
@royalpratt.bsky.social

Chicago school board elex: “If you come to the swamp, you get muddy.” What advocates hailed as a vehicle for democratic governance has unleashed attack ads, seven-figure war chests and nasty hardball politics. A good overview of gritty race Kate Armanini www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/28/c...

chicagotribune.comWhat does an elected school board mean for Chicago? More politics, experts say.The Chicago school board campaign has become typical rough-and-tumble politics and candidates are throwing punches.

Dan Vock reposted

Oliver Darcy
@oliverdarcy.bsky.social

Scoop: Fox News will finish October with its worst ratings in years, an ominous sign for Republicans ahead of the midterms. Compared to last October, Fox News is DOWN 27% in total viewers and 32% in the 25-54 demo. MS NOW and CNN are up. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/fox-news-r...

status.newsFox’s Trump FatigueWith Donald Trump's approval ratings hovering near record lows, stunning new Nielsen data obtained by Status reveals a dramatic decline in Fox News viewership—an ominous sign for Republicans just days...

Dan Vock reposted

Alex Burness
@burness.bsky.social

That’s a staggering fact to take in: About 1/3 of U.S. counties are now contractually partnered with ICE—to say nothing of all the counties assisting ICE more informally. I wrote recently about what this type of collaboration can do to communities: boltsmag.org/frederick-co...

Andrew Thrasher@tituslegaldesign.com

And we reached 1,000 counties with an active sheriff's office or other county-level agency.

Dan Vock reposted

Katie Drummond
@katie-drummond.bsky.social

NEW: The DOGE operative who gutted USAID -- firing thousands of employees and canceling lifesaving programs -- never actually signed the paperwork that's legally required for him to be employed by the agency.

wired.comA 28-Year-Old DOGE Operative Gutted USAID. HR Had No Record of Him Working ThereDespite the agency's human resources department saying he hadn’t even been onboarded, Jeremy Lewin oversaw the destruction of USAID. It’s not clear he had the legal authority to do so.

Dan Vock reposted

Jason Rabinowitz
@airlineflyer.net

"Lufthansa and Fraport Inaugurate the 'Gate of the Future' at Frankfurt Airport" They're replaced efficient LCDs with a giant power hungr heat producing LED wall that doesn't actually provide additional info, and gotten rid of the gate agent counter so you'll never find them now. Thanks, I hate it.

Dan Vock reposted

The New York Times
@nytimes.com

Since Ken Paxton was sworn in as the attorney general of Texas, he has taken about 350 trips outside the state with a taxpayer-funded security detail, including 25 to foreign countries, according to a New York Times analysis. nyti.ms/4yOQK5k

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Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

I gained some familiarity with the UMC’s trust clause as a board member (trustee) of a Methodist church in D.C. It affected everything from the loans we took for renovations to the legal jeopardy we faced for pastors performing same-sex weddings. It’s baked in to the fabric of the UMC.

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Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

Another good point… Highgland park is located on extremely valuable real estate, located right next to Southern Methodist University in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the US. Unlike much of the UMC, Highland Park thrived financially, and its push for independence is likely tied to that success.

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Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

A temporary disaffiliation policy allowed churches a limited release from the trust clause if they met certain conditions including two-thirds majority support from the congregation. But that policy has since expired, and the 2024 General Conference took the step of removing it from the Discipline.

Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

The United Methodist Church maintains a centuries-old trust clause, first established by Methodism founder John Wesley, that says church property is held in trust for the benefit of the denomination. That means that while people can leave a church at any time, they can’t take property with them.

Dan Vock reposted

Stephen Wolf
@stephenwolf.bsky.social

Replying to @stephenwolf.bsky.social

Top states to watch for Republican lame-duck gerrymanders: Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. NC’s GOP already adopted a resolution to enable passing new lame-duck power grabs and gerrymanders But if Dems break the Texas GOP trifecta, they could block lame duck power grabs by denying a quorum

Dan Vock reposted

Stephen Wolf
@stephenwolf.bsky.social

If they lose power, expect Republicans in several states to strip powers from incoming Democrats, pass voting restrictions, and new gerrymanders. They did it after losing governors races in NC in 2016 and 2024, MI and WI in 2018, and KY in 2019. They preemptively did it ahead of losing IA this year

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

Georgia is one of the main states to watch for Republicans to redo their WI/NC playbook of using the lame duck session to entrench power after losing elections. New reporting on what they might do if they lose: www.ajc.com/politics/202...

ajc.comGeorgia Republicans could redraw maps, limit governor’s powers after electionState GOP leaders have not said if they plan to have a special session. But Democrats are already preparing for one.
Dan Vock
@danvock.bsky.social

This was weird when I saw it. Apparently it got even weirder

Awful Announcing@awfulannouncing.bsky.social

dlvr.itPat McAfee ‘very, very uncomfortable’ at University of Utah due to light criticism, alludes to Charlie Kirk assassinationWe live in the golden age of rich and powerful people  lack the ability to handle even the slightest criticism, and few people embody that ethos as much as Pat McAfee. College GameDay spent its second consecutive weekend in Utah, landing in Salt Lake City on Saturday for the Big 12 showdown between the Utah…

Dan Vock reposted

Chris Geidner
@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

NEW: As expected, on a 2-1 vote, the Ninth Circuit dismisses DOJ's appeal in the US v. California case over DOJ's claims relating to "likely noncitizen" voting. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

NEW: In rare Sunday arguments, appeals court judges skeptical of DOJ’s California election lawsuit. The lawsuits in California and Alaska are expected to fail — but they also show how far A.G. Todd Blanche will go to advance Trump’s aims. Tonight, at Law Dork:

lawdork.comIn rare Sunday arguments, appeals court judges are skeptical of DOJ’s California election lawsuitThe lawsuits in California and Alaska are expected to fail — but they also show how far A.G. Todd Blanche will go to advance Trump’s aims. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.

Dan Vock reposted

Don Moynihan
@donmoyn.bsky.social

The same day a court threw out the Trump administration's firing of Comey's daughter, the Trump administration goes back, for the third time, to try to indict the head of the FBI who refused to swear loyalty to the President. www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

nbcnews.comJames Comey charged for a third time by the Trump administrationThe former FBI director, a longtime target of President Donald Trump, has not been indicted in the latest case against him.