Change Happens Quickly (when it's supposed to happen)

 This July 4, 2003, I propose creating a political party that has the goal of creating new countries governed by new constitutions. Jean Jacques Rousseau suggested there should be a social contract that binds members of society and is agree to by members of that society. I would like to begin the discussion of what these new constitutions would contain. And as we have learned from the US experience, getting an agreement into a constitution is only par to of the struggle. There must be a way to enforce the agreement. The political party will serve to be a political party. It is an organization that people join and affiliate with to put their personal stamp on politics by influencing the party and building power as the political party gains power.

At the bottom of this are the questions being asked by the IPOs of candidates seeking appointment to the Illinois Senate. Background: Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas is getting appointed to Mayor (of Chicago) Brandon Johnson's administration. Under Illinois law the committee persons of the incumbent's party (Democratic) get to appoint the replacement using a weighted voted system. Those committee persons are:

 This Block Club Chicago article by Melissa Espana shows how fake Twitter accounts are a problem for government, spreading false information. Since Elon Musk has demand money to verify accounts, Twitter has become a more fertile medium for pranksters and fraudsters. I would like the Illinois General Assembly to introduce and eventually pass a bill that creates a website for the State of Illinois to verify users on Twitter and other platforms where verification is not done or done poorly. The State of Illinois shall create a website that allows people and others (including units of government, government agencies & departments, corporations, religious institutions, etc) to verify their identity for a fee and receive a short URL that points back to a website that links the Twitter account (or other account) with the real world person or entity. I believe this most naturally fits under the Treasurer in State of Illinois government. But if someone more knowledgeable than me believes i

 Chicago City Council will create a pilot program of a $5 million fund for Chicago media outlets (for profit, nonprofit; existing, startups). For a contribution of $20, a Chicago resident would get to allocate $120 to Chicago media outlets that apply to be part of the program. To be eligible the media outlet must: cover matters of local interest to people in Chicago must employ people who live in Chicago be based in Chicago follow the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics (or an analogous code) commit to not being racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, antisemitic *** Chicago is a media town. Some media companies that have Chicago roots: Chicago Defender  Ebony Essanay Studios Harpo Studios Morningstar, Inc. Playboy the corporation fka Tronc WGN And Walt Disney was born in Chicago. The economics of local media are changing. For reasons, the model of advertising revenue is not cutting it. Various outlets have moved to nonprofit models supported by donations. This has a

 I have begun the process of remapping Illinois' US House districts using demographic data from Wikipedia and censusreporter.org. My goal is to make a map that more accurately reflects the demographics of Illinois. There's a logic to the map that makes sense to me, but I have not focused on creating a bunch of comfortable Democrat districts. See Dave Wasserman's example of this approach. I have avoided creating comfortable Democrat districts because the most reliable way to do this is to prop up "comfortable Dem" districts with Latino, Black and Asian voters who then get to vote Democrat but not be elected as Democrats. (Yes, there are exceptions, like Rep. Lauren Underwood, but the norm is more like having Reps. Bill Foster, Marie Newman (previously Dan Lipinski) and Mike Quigley blocking the path for Latinos.) The draft maps: Illinois' Fourth (IL-04) District ( Wikipedia on current district ):                         Illinois' Fifth (IL-05) District ( W

 " Chief federal judge in DC scorches Capitol riot suspects and keeps man who was in Pelosi's office in jail " Pre-trial incarceration is for people who are flight risks & a clear danger. Holding people based on their politics is fucked-up & unconstitutional.