Commentary
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Chicago Policy vs. Council Politics
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It’s election day morning, you perform your due diligence on candidates, get up before work to reach the polls, and minutes later, proudly don the “I voted” sticker as a mark of commitment to your civic duty. But wait…what if someone told you that your vote has no realistic influence…
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Explosion of Exploitation: The Tragedy of Little Village’s Implosion
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Imagine one day being awoken to a sound like a bomb-blast, and all you can see or feel is a cloud of dust and smoke. For many residents of Chicago’s Little Village in 2020, when a discontinued industrial smokestack was imploded, this was a reality. For decades, the West Side…
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The NFL Must Prioritize Players’ Safety and Humanity
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I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where football overshadowed all else. I spent every fall Friday evening at high school football games, every Saturday afternoon at college games, and every Sunday watching my father and brothers anguish over their long-suffering Bengals. Last January, I watched in awe as my hometown…
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Rising Europe: How Washington Should Respond to an Empowered EU
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In December 2022, the European Union (EU) approved an 18 billion euro aid package to Ukraine to bolster its economy amidst Russia’s invasion. This follows approximately 2.5 billion euros in EU military aid to Ukraine between February and July 2022. The EU has enacted sweeping sanctions against Russia, banned exports…
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Iran; The Third Revolution
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Negin Moayer is an Iranian immigrant, architect, Chicago resident, and business owner. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Over the past three months under the watchful eye of the international press and spread by social media, the Iranian nation…
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Electric Vehicles: A Solution to Climate Change but a Challenge for Roads
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This August, California legislators proposed an ambitious, sweeping ban prohibiting the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 in an effort to reduce vehicle emissions and fight climate change. California leads the nation in efforts to limit the rapid warming of our planet through both legislation and conscientious consumption. The…
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Al-Sisi’s Egypt: A Mirage of Democracy
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This is derived from an Analytical Politics assignment by Rimjhim Agrawal, Sief Salameh, Jahnvi Agarwal, Riddhi Kankaria. On Jan. 25, 2011, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square for a “Day of Revolution” to mark the start of nationwide protests calling for the resignation of Egypt’s autocratic leader,…
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A Responsibility to Democracy, More than Just Voting
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I spent most of my day one Friday in August listening to speeches on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, while dutifully manning the phones for constituent calls. This is not an activity I’d recommend. While I agreed with about half of the speeches on the floor…
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Trade Ties that Bind: An Economic Community for the Americas
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When leaders from across the Western Hemisphere departed President Biden’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, they left largely empty-handed. Despite fanfare and bold proclamations of an “Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity,” the Summit amounted to pleasant words with few tangible results. Although Latin American leaders received respectful engagement…
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No More No-Knock: Simple Reforms That Can Save Lives
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Imagine you’re comfortably dozing in bed at your partner’s home in the early hours of the morning. Suddenly, around 6 am, you jerk awake as the sound of loud voices permeates the room and you open your eyes in the semi-darkness to see two police officers with guns drawn and…
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Schedule F or How to Gut the Administrative State
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On October 21, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the most dangerous and reckless executive order of his presidency. Executive Order 13957 established “Schedule F,” reclassifying all policy or rulemaking federal employees as “at will” employees within the exempted service. By law, non-political rulemaking employees apply for positions through a rigorous…