@SZReports

@SZReports

@szreports.bsky.social

*Investigative journalist at Chicago Sun-Times *Expert in consumer issues; also have reported extensively on the intersection of mental health and criminal legal system *Previously with ABC News Investigative Unit *Medill School of Journalism

1.6K followers1.1K following548 posts

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@szreports.bsky.social

My Chicago Sun-Times series on Lithuania in 2026 is up! I spoke with Lithuanians about democracy, defense/NATO, tariffs, history and basketball. chicago.suntimes.com/nation-world... Or easier: suntimes.com/lithuania The Chicago Sun-Times has NO PAYWALL. We are nonprofit public media. (1/7)

chicago.suntimes.comChicago's Baltic Bond: Lithuania, America and DemocracyChicago Sun-Times investigative reporter Stephanie Zimmermann and photo editor Ashlee Rezin traveled to Lithuania for two weeks in April as the Pulitzer Center’s 2026 Richard C. Longworth Media fellow...
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“A world in which the White House is allied to the Kremlin was, until now, the stuff of paranoid fiction .… But this alliance now exists.”

Tom Nichols@radiofreetom.bsky.social

Humiliating and dangerous: Trump has now finally just made America an ally of the Kremlin and is aiding Putin in his war against an American friend and partner. Shameful betrayal of a US friend, and pathetic submission to a US enemy. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

theatlantic.comAmerica Is Now an Ally of RussiaDonald Trump has abandoned the Western order.

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Robert Loerzel
@robertloerzel.bsky.social

Replying to @robertloerzel.bsky.social

It was great to see thousands of people inside the Uptown Theatre during Open House Chicago — so many expressions of awe and wonder.

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So we went at 11:15 and it was 2 hrs long just like your map. We bailed and walked to the Haitian-American museum @ Clark/Wilson, then the Timeline Theater @ Broadway/Argyle, then ate some Vietnamese food. By then it was after 2pm and the line was only about 20-25 min starting at the post office!!!

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I would have stood the full 2 hours if I had to. It was such a treat to see the inside of the magnificent Uptown. When I win the Powerball, they can have whatever $ they need to restore it. All I ask is for a plaque over the entrance to the ladies lounge 🥰

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The Washington Post
@washingtonpost.com

Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers on Friday, setting olive groves on fire and slinging rocks. Caught in the attack was Post photographer Heidi Levine. “They just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times,” Levine said. https://wapo.st/4yt6dHY

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Streetsblog Chicago
@chi.streetsblog.org

Last month, former City of Milwaukee bike-ped coordinator and @wibikefed.bsky.social staffer Dave Schlabowske's brother Dean, who plays in the Chicago country-punk band The Waco Brothers, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. A GoFundMe was launched to support Dean and his wife Joe.

gofundme.comDonate to Support Dean and Jo Right Now, organized by Peter StilesIn mid-September, Dean’s life was completely upended when he was diagnosed with… Peter Stiles needs your support for Donate to Support Dean and Jo Right Now
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What an idiot. And I love that reporter for standing up for her rights.

Baltimore Banner@thebaltimorebanner.com

Republican Rep. Andy Harris incorrectly told a reporter they were breaking the law as the reporter and others recorded an exchange with him last night. Harris had just wrapped up a debate with Democratic challenger Dan Schwartz.

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Bill Grueskin
@bgrueskin.bsky.social

"Prices rose much faster in September than hourly earnings, marking the sixth month in a row of inflation outpacing wages. "That means many Americans are seeing their real incomes fall. “'At this point we’re at dangerously elevated levels of inflation,'" said one economist.

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Scared Bootecki 👻
@jaredrutecki.bsky.social

Heartland Human Care Services will close its pre-trial residential shelter for justice-impacted youth, the Manuel Saura Center, on Nov. 30, a spokesperson for the organization confirmed.

news.wttw.comShelter Offering Only Alternative to Youth Detention Center in Cook County to CloseHeartland Human Care Services will close its pre-trial residential shelter for justice-impacted youth, the Manuel Saura Center, on Nov. 30, a spokesperson for the organization confirmed.

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Mark Chadbourn
@chadbourn.bsky.social

Former VP Mike Pence: “President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin’s ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.”

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Eric Umansky
@ericumansky.bsky.social

So I edited this story. And I wanna share on thought on language, & telling the truth We talked about: the "government is lying to you" It may sound saucy. It may sound like opinion But it's just true And if something is true then you should just say it, clearly That's just good journalism

Eric Umansky@ericumansky.bsky.social

"The federal government is lying to you." "The government has said that ICE does not zip tie or handcuff children." "They’ve denied engaging in racial profiling" "They’ve said the government is not wrongly arresting U.S. citizens." *We found the truth* projects.propublica.org/american-cit....

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Jolene Burdge, who revealed in 2015 that her brother Steve Reinboldt was sexually abused in school by Dennis Hastert, says she has mixed feelings hearing of Hastert’s death. “It will never make up for what he did to Steve” By @tinasfon.bsky.social No paywall chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...

chicago.suntimes.comDennis Hastert, former U.S. House speaker disgraced by sex abuse allegations, dies at 84The Aurora native rose from a member of the Illinois House of Representatives to the U.S. speaker of the House. But his conviction in 2016 for financial misconduct led to revelations that he sexually ...

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Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com

Replying to @atrupar.com

Klobuchar has Schmitt dead to rights: "The game in fact was in Maryland. For a senator to have false information & imply, based on confusion about name of a team, that you were in another city & somehow involved that day in what was happening in Georgia & call you a 'dirtbag' deserves an apology"

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Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com

🤡 Schmitt beclowns himself 🤡 Schmitt concocted an elaborate conspiracy theory that Smith traveled to Atl for a Hawks game and to collude with Fani Willis, & flashed his "evidence" before accusing Smith of perjury. There's just one problem -- his facts were totally wrong. Here's the whole sequence:

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Gift link: “Mr. Trump’s affinity for despots, tyrants and autocrats has baffled democratic leaders and diplomats and reoriented American foreign policy…” Worth reading the whole thing. In Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/u...

nytimes.comIn Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So. (Gift Article)The showdown over President Trump’s partial media ban played out as he welcomed President Xi Jinping, whose government is ranked among the most repressive in the world.

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Chris Geidner
@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

NEW: After reporters were denied access this morning, plaintiffs are requesting an immediate hearing. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

BREAKING: Judge Timothy Kelly grants CNN, MS NOW, and Politico’s TRO against the Trump administration, ordering that the reporters affected “immediately” have their White House hard passes reinstated. The TRO is in effect for 14 days. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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ProPublica
@propublica.org

Many of the babies’ autopsy reports were clear: Vitamin K deficiency was the immediate cause of death, or contributed to it. The reports also included details about parents refusing the vitamin K shot, a long-standard injection, for their newborns. (Published May)

propublica.orgWhat I Can’t Forget About the Babies Who Died After Not Receiving a Vitamin K ShotBabies have died after not receiving the vitamin K shot at birth. Their autopsy records underscore how preventable their deaths could have been.
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In a remarkably candid interview with @tinasfon.bsky.social Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks about his diabetes diagnosis, GLP-1 drugs and how he overcame food cravings. (He also managed to get off insulin.) As always, no paywall at Suntimes.com

Tina Sfondeles@tinasfon.bsky.social

Gov. Pritzker is for the first time revealing publicly that he’s lost 80 lbs with the help of a GLP-1. “There are people who have it very easy their whole lives, and they’ve never struggled at all," Pritzker said of his weight. “And I’m just not that person.” chicago.suntimes.com/illinois-gov...

chicago.suntimes.comGov. Pritzker opens up about his 80 lb. weight loss, use of GLP-1 — ‘I think it’s what I need to succeed’More than two years into his new weight loss journey, JB Pritzker says he wants to talk about it openly, largely in part because he knows millions of Americans are suffering from obesity-related healt...
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Gift link: Excellent catalog of the many ways the Trump Admin has tried to diminish a free press, long before this latest ban on CNN, Politico and MSNOW. From banning the Associated Press because they wouldn’t say “Gulf of America” to raiding a WaPo reporter’s home. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09...

nytimes.comLive Updates: CNN and MS NOW Reporters Denied White House Access After Trump Announces Ban (Gift Article)President Trump announced a ban on Friday on the outlets, whose coverage he deems unfair. The move will likely be challenged in court.
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The sidewalk cafe lights story continues … (Did you know those pretty sparkling lights are illegal in Chicago? Pretty much no one knew, until this one guy got in trouble) As always, no paywall at Chicago Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

chicago.suntimes.comIllinois Restaurant Association chief calls out uneven enforcement of sidewalk cafe lights ruleThe comments follow the city's crackdown against one Roscoe Village restaurant's outdoor lights — even as scores of other restaurants hang them over sidewalks and parkways.
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Very sad day in court. An end to one of the cases Frank Main and I covered in our “Failure to treat, failure to protect” series. Heartbreaking and senseless loss for the Kimchi family, whose daughter Anat was by all accounts a brilliant, kind-hearted young woman. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

chicago.suntimes.comHomeless man gets 60 years for fatally stabbing visiting grad student in unprovoked Loop attackJudge John F. Lyke Jr. handed down the maximum sentence to Tony Robinson, calling the murder of Anat Kimchi a “heinous, senseless and brutal crime." The attack was one of several shocking cases examin...
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Bonkers paragraph in this gift NYT story: “Sometimes, as in the case of Mr. diGenova, the prosecutors themselves have effectively reminded him that it is no simple matter to file indictments against people without real evidence or viable legal reasoning.” ‼️ www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/u...

nytimes.comTrump Loyalist Joseph diGenova Quits ‘Grand Conspiracy’ Case (Gift Article)The inquiry has sought to link disparate criminal inquiries into the president as a multiyear scheme to damage his political prospects.

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Sam Cole
@samleecole.bsky.social

There are so many stories lately about people who died by suicide after falling into emotionally manipulative patterns with chatbots. We rarely get to hear how the people who loved them are coping after an unimaginable, senseless loss. This is one of their stories: www.404media.co/austin-gordo...

404media.co'Tell Everyone:' A Man Died by Suicide After Talking to ChatGPT. His Former Partner Wants to Warn the World About AIAfter allegedly becoming emotionally reliant on ChatGPT, Austin died at 40 years old, leaving behind family and friends who loved him. Megan wants everyone to know what happened.
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“The scope of the investigation is without parallel. Mass polygraph tests have never been administered to the top ranks of the U.S. military in modern history.” (Gift link) In Major Leak Hunt, Pentagon Gives Polygraph Tests to Joint Staff Members www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/u...

nytimes.comIn Major Leak Hunt, Pentagon Gives Polygraph Tests to Joint Staff Members (Gift Article)About 50 people were tested, an unparalleled inquiry that comes in the wake of news reports about the war with Iran and the U.S. military’s diminished stocks of munitions.
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I have indeed spent most of my life in Illinois but still have a good bit of Wisconsin in me! (I was waiting for a question asking whether “He had went to the store” or “That was a great movie, hey” are acceptable sentences 😄)