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Jonah Newman

@jonahshai.bsky.social
1.7K followers 691 following 865 posts

Managing editor at Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom focused on issues of equity and justice in the courts.

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Reposted by Jonah Newman
Jared Rutecki @jaredrutecki.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Amazing work by @propublica.org and partners illustrating the lack of regulations around microschools in some states. www.propublica.org/article/prop...
In Arkansas, all it took was a few clicks on the Arkansas secretary of state website, $45 and an American flag to form a bona fide private school with the Arkansas Times.
We established a school with Mountain State Spotlight in West Virginia after filing our new school's name and location with authorities on a piece of notebook paper, then exchanging a few emails.
And with The Assembly in North Carolina, we filed an online notice of intent to open a private school at Ponysaurus Brewing Co. in Durham, while perched on its metal bar stools, eyeing glasses of a crisp kolsch.
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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My work. Judge Walowski is seeking retention following a wave of reversals by the appellate court. In one case, the court reversed a conviction because Walowski forced a defense attorney to proceed to trial as he recovered from a bout with food poisoning bad enough to call for hospitalization.
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Amanda Mull @amandamull.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A banner evening for elder millennials
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Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
There has never been a day on which the Minnesota Vikings won a Super Bowl, so today is one of the greatest days in team history.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 26/09/2026
great piece. man social media is a cancer themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom...
themomoftheyear.substack.com
I’m the Mom in That Viral Giants Clip. Let Me Tell You About My Husband.
You saw me carrying our baby and food. There was more happening in our family that night.
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Northwestern always be Northwesterning.
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Watching the Northwestern-Indiana football game (I know) and just saw what was essentially a Trump campaign ad with copy on the bottom that said “paid for by the US government.” Is this new? Since when can the president spend taxpayer dollars on an ad about how great he is?
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Maya Dukmasova @mdoukmas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
IT'S HERE! The @injusticewatch.org #CheckYourJudges guide is back to help you feel informed when you hit that looong judicial retention portion of the ballot! 61 Cook County judges asking for another term on the bench. You can find everything we dug up on them here! 2026retention.injusticewatch.org
2026retention.injusticewatch.org
Cook County November 2026 Judicial Election Guide
Injustice Watch's guide to the November 2026 Cook County judicial elections.
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Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 25/09/2026
Judges have a hand in all kinds of decisions — including the length of someone’s sentence and whether or not someone gets evicted from their home. Before you vote, find out who's making those decisions in Cook County. buff.ly/jpBxfAa
buff.ly
Cook County November 2026 Judicial Election Guide
Injustice Watch's guide to the November 2026 Cook County judicial elections.
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🚨 @injusticewatch.org's judicial election guide is live! If you live in Cook County, make sure you use the guide to #CheckYourJudges before voting. 🧑‍⚖️ Our reporters worked for months to research each judge on your ballot so you can make an informed decision. injusticewatch.org/checkyourjudges
injusticewatch.org
Cook County November 2026 Judicial Election Guide
Injustice Watch's guide to the November 2026 Cook County judicial elections.
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Some personal news, as they used to say at the old site: I'm thrilled to share that I'll be joining @themarshallproject.org next month as senior editor for local investigations and engagement, working with the talented journalists in the St. Louis, Cleveland, and Jackson bureaus!
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
After David Jackson published his series on Illinois' Special Prosecution Unit, two whistleblowers came forward with previously unreported records that allege additional misconduct and conflicts of interest by the unit. Here are their stories. www.injusticewatch.org/project/shad...
injusticewatch.org
The whistleblowers vs. the shadow prosecutors
A new trove of documents independently confirmed by Injustice Watch allege previously unreported misconduct and conflicts of interest by Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit.
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Maya Dukmasova @mdoukmas.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Heya @injusticewatch.org is still in big need of volunteer DRIVERS to help us distribute 200,000 print copies of our #CheckYourJudges guide across Cook County! Sign up in the volunteer section of this form: www.injusticewatch.org/judges/judic...
injusticewatch.org
Help your neighborhood get our judicial election guide
We’re expanding the print distribution of our judicial election guide for the November election to reach 200,000 voters — more than ever before. We need
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Maya Dukmasova @mdoukmas.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
TONIGHT: I'll be teaching a FOIA workshop on the west side with the good folks at PNAP! givebutter.com/PNAP091426
givebutter.com
FOIA Fall: FOIA Requests 101
Join us for a hands on workshop facilitated by a journalist working with Injustice Watch.
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Caitlin McGlade @caitmcglade.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"McClatchy will invest in journalism that “is differentiated, consequential and difficult to replicate; reporting rooted in our communities and strengthened by sources, investigation, verification, context and judgment." That is what all of us who got fired do. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/b...
nytimes.com
McClatchy Makes Deep Job Cuts to Newspapers Around the Country
The owner of The Miami Herald said subscriber interest did not support its current level of investment. One employee called the layoffs a “blood bath.”
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 11/09/2026
· The New York Times reports that staff at the Spanish-language sister newspaper of the Miami Herald "was nearly completely eliminated" www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/b...
nytimes.com
McClatchy Makes Deep Job Cuts to Newspapers Around the Country
The owner of The Miami Herald said subscriber interest did not support its current level of investment. One employee called the layoffs a “blood bath.”
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brushy kb @brushy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
this crop art at the minneapolis airport
a rendition of a speed movie poster made entirely of crop seeds except the movie is called "seed" and the actors names are beanu reeves, sandra burdock, dennis popcorn (this one is a stretch), and chaff daniels. the tagline on it says "crop quiz, hot shot"
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Alli DeJong @allidejong.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Chicago, you should really be at the beach today
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Update: We won! 🎉 Congrats to Carlos and Emeline and everyone at @injusticewatch.org and @raceandequityproject.org who worked on this outstanding investigation into Cook County's unfair — and unconstitutional — property tax foreclosure system for this well-deserved recognition!
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Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 29/08/2026
Behind on property taxes? Already lost your home to foreclosure? Injustice Watch's Carlos Ballesteros and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity's Emeline Posner will break down what's changing and what you need to know at our upcoming free workshops. airtable.com/appxuo0SNj05...
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Proud of my @injusticewatch.org colleagues for being named finalists in the Online Journalism Awards in two categories! First, @cb-312.bsky.social and @emelpos.bsky.social in the Excellence in Social Justice Reporting category for their series Taken by Taxes: awards.journalists.org/entries/take...
awards.journalists.org
Taken by Taxes - Online Journalism Awards
Read More
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Maya Dukmasova @mdoukmas.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Hey Cook County! Our November judicial election guide will be here before you know it! Let us know where @injusticewatch.org should distribute print copies of the guide in your community! www.injusticewatch.org/judges/judic...
injusticewatch.org
Help your neighborhood get our judicial election guide
We’re expanding the print distribution of our judicial election guide for the November election to reach 200,000 voters — more than ever before. We need
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Reposted by Jonah Newman
Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
It's not just police: County prosecutors fed information like names, home addresses, court dates, and more, to ICE. The defendants I talked with didn't know – and neither did their attorneys. The practice is pervasive, and it cuts party lines. (An @injusticewatch.org partnership with @wired.com!)
wired.com
The County Prosecutors Who Became ICE Informants
Illinois prosecutors shared defendants’ personal data with federal immigration agents without criminal warrants, public disclosure, or legislative oversight.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Reminder: Dolly Parton helped fund the Moderna vaccine for COVID.
nytimes.com
Dolly Parton, who helped fund the Moderna vaccine, gets a ‘dose of her own medicine.’ (Published 2021)
The country music star broke into song before she was inoculated, and urged her fans to “get out there and get your shot.”
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
When @aurabogado.bsky.social started filing hundreds of FOIA requests with local agencies across Illinois to see who was talking with ICE and DHS, she found something surprising: Prosecutors were sharing info about defendants with immigration agents. www.injusticewatch.org/project/ice-...
injusticewatch.org
The county prosecutors who became ICE informants
Illinois prosecutors shared defendants’ personal data with federal immigration agents without criminal warrants, public disclosure, or legislative oversight.
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Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Illinois law says local officials can't help federal agents deport people. So how did so many residents end up on ICE's radar through information shared by local police, sheriffs, and prosecutors? I filed 394 FOIA requests to find out. (An @injusticewatch.org partnership with @theintercept.com!)
injusticewatch.org
Illinois promised to protect immigrants. Local officials helped deport them anyway.
In over a third of Illinois counties, cops, sheriffs, and even prosecutors helped federal immigration agents route at least 150 people into the deportation system since Trump returned to office, despi...
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Shannon Heffernan @shannonheffernan.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered an independent monitor to oversee detention of children at the family facility in Dilley, TX storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
Order – #1828 in Jenny L Flores v. Edwin Meese (C.D. Cal., 2:85-cv-04544) – CourtListener.com
ORDER RE APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL MASTER AND INDEPENDENT MONITOR by Judge Dolly M. Gee: The Court hereby APPOINTS Andrea Sheridan Ordin, Esq. as the Special Master ("SM"), and Dr. Paul H. Wise as the In...
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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 16/08/2026
Injustice Watch reports on the miscarriages of justice committed by an elite team of Illinois prosecutors:
injusticewatch.org
‘The wrong side of justice’
Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit has been responsible for dozens of questionable cases, while acting outside of public view and with little oversight.
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thanks to @chicago.suntimes.com, @capitolnewsil.bsky.social and Illinois Times for co-publishing David Jackson's @injusticewatch.org investigation into Illinois' Special Prosecutions Unit this week. For the full series, click here: www.injusticewatch.org/projects/sha...
injusticewatch.org
Shadow Prosecutors
Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit has been responsible for dozens of questionable cases, while acting outside of public view and with little oversight.
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Julia Poe @juliapoe.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
When I think about trans people in sports, I don’t think about lobbies or legislation. I think about my friends. Wrote about pick-up hoops, queer community and love:
chicagotribune.com
Column: When I think about transgender people in sports, I think about my friends
Despite the rabid fixation upon the concept of trans women in sports, those who beat the drum the loudest for exclusive policies rarely seem to care about trans people themselves.
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Blair Paddock @blairpaddock.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
NEW: A couple dozen men at Lawrence Correctional Center are on hunger strike over conditions in solitary confinement. They say they haven’t received mental health treatment, out-of-cell time, or access to tablets to communicate with family. news.wttw.com/2026/08/12/d...
news.wttw.com
Dozens of Incarcerated Men at Lawrence Prison Begin Hunger Strike Over Restrictive Housing Conditions
The men declared the strike from their restrictive housing, or solitary confinement, cells on Monday, alleging a lack of mental health treatment and out-of-cell time at the prison in the southeast reg...
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Gambling apps partnering with news organizations are the natural endpoint of horserace journalism. What’s the point of a horserace if you can’t bet on it
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
NEW: @injusticewatch.org senior reporter David Jackson dove into Illinois' Special Prosecution Unit, a little-known but powerful state agency that steps in when local prosecutors have a conflict. They're supposed to be an elite unit of lawyers beyond reproach. Here's what he found.
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Maya Dukmasova @mdoukmas.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
NEW: in the wake of his defeat for reelection as Cook County Chief Judge nearly a year ago, Tim Evans is being elevated to the Illinois Appellate Court. Some would argue it beats being back in a trial courtroom, even if that courtroom is at the top of the Daley Center.
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Maya Dukmasova @mdoukmas.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
70 FIRES in just 3 YEARS
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Adriana Cardona @adrianacardmag.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Chaotic, crowded Chicago immigration mega court hearings are fueling record deportation orders chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/... Our recent story with @bylaurenfitz.bsky.social
chicago.suntimes.com
Chaotic, crowded Chicago immigration mega court hearings are fueling record deportation orders
New “mega master” hearings that began in Chicago in May are calling as many as 185 immigrants to a single small courtroom. Many immigrants, fearful and unable to find a lawyer on short notice, are mis...
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Joe Neff @josephneff.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Powerful and disturbing story from my pal @shannonheffernan.bsky.social www.themarshallproject.org/2026/07/24/p...
themarshallproject.org
A Prison on Fire
Designed to help people with serious mental illness, Joliet Treatment Center repeatedly failed to prevent or respond to fires, despite two deaths.
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Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 22/07/2026
Join us Tuesday, August 18, for a conversation about how Cook County prosecutors are seeking warrants for people who miss traffic court — even though they’ve already been detained or deported by ICE. buff.ly/arMpjga
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the lakeshore monk @thecorlew.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Chicago Over Everything
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Alex Burness @burness.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
An estimated 40,000 Missourians on parole or probation will regain the right to vote, in the latest state-level rollback of felony disenfranchisement. I wrote about it in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/gop-run-miss...
boltsmag.org
GOP-Run Missouri Becomes Latest State to Roll Back Felony Disenfranchisement - Bolts
A new law will restore voting rights for tens of thousands of people on probation and parole. It’s a departure from other GOP bills this session to restrict democracy.
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Stephen Farrow @stephenfarrow.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Many thanks to the Toronto Star for inadvertently showing us why we should all use the Oxford Comma. Apparently Sylvia had some, let's say, complicated hobbies:
Headline from the Toronto Star:

The latest historical fiction
books take inspiration from
Sylvia Plath, a New York
vigilante and Shah of Iran

We review ‘Daffodil Days,’ ‘Lady X,’ ‘Love Lane’ and
‘Mistress of the Persian Boarding House.

July 16,2026 at 12:45 p.m.
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Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
In other news my toddler stole my phone and tried to order groceries
An entire order of mint chocolate Chip
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Casey Toner @ctoner.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... Carlos Baker, who shot and killed his partner Krystal Rivera, was referred to a strict supervision program just weeks before the killing. But a supervisor never followed up on the email and he was never enrolled w @schuba.bsky.social @peternickeas.bsky.social
chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago police failed to place troubled cop under strict supervision before he fatally shot partner
Carlos Baker was referred to a program that puts officers under intense oversight. Failing could mean “severe” discipline or firing. But Baker wasn't enrolled before he shot Officer Krystal Rivera bec...
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
For years, Chicago police have failed to report tens of thousands of traffic stops per month, in violation of state law. A year after CPD promised to “fix” the problem, it’s gotten worse. By @pascalsabino.bsky.social, for @boltsmag.org and @injusticewatch.org: www.injusticewatch.org/criminal-cou...
injusticewatch.org
Chicago Police promised to ‘fix’ secret traffic stops. A year later, the problem has only gotten worse.
As Chicago’s top cop steps down, police are making fewer traffic stops. But our new investigation finds half of stops are still not being reported to oversight agencies, despite a state law mandating ...
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Laurie! Live! @laurie-merrell.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
it broke the scale :(
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Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Every time I’ve checked today, the AQI in Chicago has been higher than the time before. It’s now reached “I didn’t know it could get this high” levels.
Screen shot of Apple weather showing the Air Quality Index in Chicago is 492-Hazardous
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Eileen Ridge @eileen4ever.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Peaches and Dreams dahlia makes my day. 🌱 #FlowerReport #Bloomscrolling
young dahlia flower: yellow petals. maturing dahlia flower: gets a peachy blush. dahlia getting better with age, color deepening. Three Peaches and Dreams dahlias on the plant.
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Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 16/07/2026
As Chicago’s top cop steps down, police are making fewer traffic stops. But a new investigation from Injustice Watch and @boltsmag.org finds most stops are still not being reported to oversight agencies, despite a state law mandating disclosure. www.injusticewatch.org/criminal-cou...
injusticewatch.org
Chicago Police promised to ‘fix’ secret traffic stops. A year later, the problem has only gotten worse.
As Chicago’s top cop steps down, police are making fewer traffic stops. But our new investigation finds half of stops are still not being reported to oversight agencies, despite a state law mandating…
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Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 15/07/2026
Update: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed this legislation into law. Read our work below with @boltsmag.org to see how Illinois is raising the compensation for wrongfully convicted people, who often leave prison with few means to rebuild their lives.
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