Since 2014, U.S. lawmakers have introduced over 200 bills targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The vast majority of these efforts have failed to pass, but more than 30 states have adopted anti-BDS laws. The first state-based measure to take specific action against Israel boycotts was passed in Illinois in 2015; 49-0 in the Senate and 102-0 in the House.
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In the relentless nightmare that is the post-Roe United States, it can be hard to find the bright spots for abortion rights. Maternal mortality rates in states with abortion bans are increasing. South Carolina, which already has a draconian six-week abortion ban in effect, is now debating whether to ban nearly all abortions in the state. The future of mifepristone access remains murky and tenuous…
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A reckoning could be coming for pro-Israel groups known for doxxing Palestine advocates. In March, the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) filed a class-action lawsuit in Illinois state court against the organizations Canary Mission and StopAntisemitism, as well as groups and individuals identified as their funders or board members.
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Some Republican lawmakers have routinely proposed criminally prosecuting women for getting abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, despite bipartisan condemnation and criticism from national anti-abortion organizations. These bills never made it to the finish line, but they keep circulating in legislatures across the country. So-called “abortion abolitionists” who…
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“We were in waiting mode,” a Honduran immigrant based in St. Louis told me as she described her time being held in a county jail in Missouri. In June 2025, the woman — who asked to be identified by pseudonym “Mary” to avoid targeting — was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a gas station in St. Louis. “Dinner was the same every day, and waiting was the worst part because…
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Access to mental health care is rapidly expanding in Illinois, thanks to a legislative victory won through a grassroots campaign that united patients and health care providers to take on the power of the health insurance industry. As organizers who worked on the campaign, we’re excited to share the story of our win with the hope that it will give momentum and inspiration to similar campaigns in…
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