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Ryan

@rthompto.bsky.social
263 followers 537 following 14 posts

🏳️‍🌈He/him. Principal Policy Analyst @ Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and Board Chair of chipride.org. (Re)posts reflect my personal opinions. Longer thoughts live here: substack.com/@rthompto

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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
In grad school a professor called me Mr. MPO. I’d come in already knowing I wanted to work at a metropolitan planning organization. That was unusual enough to earn a nickname. I wrote about why.
open.substack.com
Mr. MPO
How I ended up at the table nobody's heard of
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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
The University of Iowa has a long history of expanding access and advancing intellectual freedom. Closing the Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) and African American Studies departments undermines that legacy. UI alumni: add your name to this open letter and share it widely. #HandsoffGWSS
docs.google.com
An Open Letter to the People of Iowa and University of Iowa Alumni
We, the alumni/ae of the University of Iowa, write to you in a moment of profound alarm about what is happening to our beloved university. Public universities exist for a reason: they offer students a...
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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
On my commute into work this morning, I noticed a woman outside the bus window struggling along an unshoveled sidewalk while pushing a stroller.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer. He is a computer safety researcher. And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine. In under 1600 words. aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...

I Want You to Understand Chicago
Politics Chicago
2025-11-08

I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.

Every day my phone buzzes. It is a neighborhood group: four people were kidnapped at the corner drugstore. A friend a mile away sends a Slack message: she was at the scene when masked men assaulted and abducted two people on the street. A plumber working on my pipes is distraught, and I find out that two of his employees were kidnapped that morning. A week later it happens again.

An email arrives. Agents with guns have chased a teacher into the school where she works. They did not have a warrant. They dragged her away, ignoring her and her colleagues’ pleas to show proof of her documentation. That evening I stand a few feet from the parents of Rayito de Sol and listen to them describe, with anguish, how good Ms. Diana was to their children. What it is like to have strangers with guns traumatize your kids. For a teacher to hide a three-year-old child for fear they might be killed. How their relatives will no longer leave the house. I hear the pain and fury in their voices, and I wonder who will be next.

Understand what it is to pray in Chicago. On September 19th, Reverend David Black, lead pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, was praying outside the ICE detention center in Broadview when a DHS agent shot him in the head with pepper balls. Pepper balls are never supposed to be fired at the head because they can seriously injure, or even kill. “We could hear them laughing as they were shooting us from the roof,” Black recalled. He is not the only member of the clergy ICE has assaulted. Methodist pastor Hannah Kardon was violently arrested on October 17th, and Baptist pastor Michael Woolf was shot with pepper balls on November 1st.

Understand what it is to sleep in Chicago. On the night of September 30th, federal agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter to execute a raid on an apartment building on the South Sho…
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Doug @doug.city · 31/10/2025
This is exceptionally good news to wake up to.
chicago.suntimes.com
Illinois lawmakers approve $1.5B legislative package to buoy mass transit
Lawmakers agreed on a tax package to stave off a $200 million-plus fiscal cliff next year that would likely result in major cuts to bus and rail service at the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pac...
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Better Streets Chicago @betterstreetschicago.org · 31/10/2025
We saved transit.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 29/10/2025
Chicago has *more* households than *ever*—but 900,000 *fewer* residents than it had at its peak in 1950!
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 26/06/2025
Another day, another 4500 word anti trans scree from the New York Times.
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Block Club Chicago @blockclubchi.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Chicago Pride Parade 2025 🌈 Here’s what you need to know: blockclubchi.co/4nqEdk8
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 31/03/2025
Everyone needs to understand what Elon and DOGE are building, an AI driven panopticon that will know everything about you and will be used to ensure compliance with their fascist agenda. They are creating a unified database of everything the federal government has on every single American. 🧵1/
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Chelsea Thompto @cthompto.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
It’s transgender day of visibility but visibility as a means to security and safety is a lie. Solidarity must be built from a foundation that surpasses the visual/understandable. #tdov #tdov2025 #transartist
Black and white fog texture using very small ASCII characters
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Pete Buttigieg @petebuttigieg.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
From an operational security perspective, this is the highest level of fuckup imaginable. These people cannot keep America safe.
theatlantic.com
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
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Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) @thetattooedprof.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
So apparently the AP Human Geography site is culling some of its "daily videos" for class use. A teacher tells me the videos on redlining and white flight are gone. In the screenshot below, you can see the Daily Videos start with no. 2 (no. 1 on this page was redlining, and it's gone now).
AP Human Geography website showing 2 instead of 3 available videos.
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Active Transportation Alliance @activetransportation.org · 24/02/2025
Love #BikeTheDrive? Join our team and help us make it another unforgettable experience for thousands of cyclists! We're also are hiring for two paid internships. activetrans.org/about-us/our...
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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
As a transportation policy analyst and regional planner, I’ve found @cnt.org to be an invaluable resource for research, tools, and solutions to create sustainable and equitable communities. Now they’re on BlueSky! If you’re not already following them, you should!
bsky.app
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.
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NPR @npr.org · 23/02/2025
Elon Musk's claim that federal workers who ignore a mass email will lose their job isn't supported by the email's request — or OPM guidance that says responses to its mass emails are "voluntary."
npr.org
'What did you do last week?' email stokes confusion and anger among federal workers
Elon Musk's claim that federal workers who ignore a mass email will lose their job isn't supported by the email's request — or OPM guidance that says responses to its mass emails are "voluntary."
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Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 23/02/2025
Defeating the authoritarian threat demands that we rise to the challenge of solidarity and refuse to bend to efforts to break apart our coalition by attacking our most vulnerable allies. Trans and nonbinary Americans — and our democracy — depend on it.
ifyoucankeepit.org
Protecting democracy requires protecting trans and nonbinary people
How the autocratic playbook is deployed against trans and nonbinary communities
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Ayana Elizabeth Johnson @ayanaeliza.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Super Bowl ad drives home the critical point: When it comes to acting on climate change #lateristoolate. But SOLUTIONS EXIST. If we act now, we can help protect the people and places we love. Bravo Science Moms & Potential Energy Coalition 🌏🏈
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Parking Reform Network @parkingreform.org · 08/02/2025
Rest in peace, Professor Shoup (1938-2025) We will keep up the good work. Share your stories and thoughts with the parking reform community here: parkingreform.org/donald-shoup
Donald Shoup on a bicycle in two photos decades a apart.  He is near a parking sign in both and wearing a crocheted sweater.
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Imara Jones @imarajones.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Today the @nytimes.com sought to whitewash its central role in laundering anti-trans falsehoods and turbocharging anti-trans attacks nationwide. My reporting showed that editorial leadership was aware of this depravity which is why this disingenuous piece can’t erase the scale of what they’ve done.
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Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
"But maybe the biggest reason for Trump’s desire to kill the congestion charge is a phenomenon I identified the last time I wrote about this: the rage some Americans obviously feel at any suggestion that people should change their behavior for the common good." Via @pkrugman.bsky.social
paulkrugman.substack.com
Trump To New York: Drop Dead
Why he wants to kill a hugely successful policy
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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
He's weak. Most people don’t approve of him. MAGA majority in Congress is slim. He’s losing in the courts. So he wants you to believe he is a king. #DontBelieveHim He wants you exhausted. Don't let him overwhelm you. #resist #rest #persist Worth the 13 minutes. By @ezraklein.bsky.social
youtu.be
Don't Believe Him | The Ezra Klein Show
YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show
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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Credit: @domandink on Instagram
A digital drawing of two hands holding one another with a pink background. On the left is a hand in black, brown and rainbow stripes with the text “There’s no LGB” written across it. On the right is a hand in trans flag colors with the text “without the T” written across it.
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 08/02/2025
As governor of Illinois, I’ve made it my mission to make our state the best to call home including for our LGBTQ+ community. No matter who you are or who you love, everyone deserves dignity and equality. Hate has no home here.
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Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 05/02/2025
NEW: We pulled together briefings for civil servants to provide them with news, resources, and analysis of the Trump Administration's attacks on the federal workforce including ways to plan for what happens next. Read our Dear Civil Servant series here: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/separating……
ifyoucankeepit.org
Separating truth from fiction on the “fork in the road”
Civil servants deserve to make life-changing decisions with accurate information and without coercion
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ACLU @aclu.org · 03/02/2025
Exactly.
billboard.com
Alicia Keys Says ‘DEI Is Not a Threat — It’s a Gift’ While Accepting Global Impact Award at 2025 Grammys
Alicia Keys called DEI a "gift" during her Grammys Global Impact Award speech. See what she said.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
NEWS: A Census employee tells me that the National Crime Victimization Survey—conducted for DOJ's Bureau of Justice Statistics—and National Health Interview Survey—conducted for the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics—have already been altered to fit with Trump's anti-trans censorship.
lawdork.com
Breaking: Disappearing websites, data among the chaos as Trump's anti-trans censorship begins
A stark picture presented across the federal government, with particularly concerning information coming out of the Census Bureau and CDC.
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Andrew M. | Founder & Advisor 🇬🇷 🇺🇸 @andrewmfounder.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Wow, I didn't know this.
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Stephen Nuñez @socio-steve.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Tip from @snowjob.bsky.social If you have a whitehouse.gov link you want to access and it is down, try replacing "www.whitehouse.gov" with "bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov" The national archives is still doing its job for now.
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Audrey J @mouse1724.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Look out for your friends
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interACT Advocates @interact.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
The Trump administration purports to talk about ‘biological realities,’ but demonstrates that they lack any understanding of the relevant science. www.statnews.com/2025/01/23/t...
statnews.com
Trump executive order declaring only ‘two sexes’ gets the biology wrong, scientists say
Trump executive order declaring two sexes defies decades of research into how human bodies grow and develop
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Patton Oswalt @pattonoswalt.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
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Soren Spicknall @sorenspicknall.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Newly launched, starting in Chicago: Landlord Mapper, an ambitious resource meant to aid tenant organizing and increase transparency of rental property ownership. The site combines rote ownership info with network graphs of likely related entities, building violation info, etc. landlordmapper.org
A screenshot of a website that features a map of Chicago overlaid with dots associated with properties that share a landlord with 225-227 W 111th Street. A panel showing data about the building is shown on the left, with facts like the building's taxpayer info, its age, and its history of code violations. On the right-hand side is a panel featuring overlays and customizations for the map, including race and income data by Census tract.A panel of information about the landlord Jesse Hinton shows known information about the number of buildings he owns, his property tax obligations, open violations and recent 311 complaints against his properties, and an estimate of his rental income from the units he owns.A network graph shows a series of variations of the landlord's name that are associated with different properties and legal filings.
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Edward Russell @byerussell.com · 22/01/2025
Trumps executive orders "could imperil billions of dollars in funding for projects that states have already begun working on... for everything from roads and bridges to broadband and withstanding the effects of climate change." This could get messy. h/t @yfreemark.bsky.social
politico.com
Trump kicks off potentially messy fight over Biden’s infrastructure money
One of Trump's executive orders could imperil billions in funding for projects that states have already begun working on, some experts said.
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Ryan @rthompto.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
I’m continually impressed by my sister-in-law’s insight and advocacy. Her latest article is a must-read for anyone looking to be a genuine ally to trans and nonbinary people. I encourage everyone to take a moment to read, reflect, and share this important message!
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Oriana González @oriana.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
NEW: When the 1st Trump admin proposed a rule allowing homeless shelters to turn trans people away, congressional Dems were furious Now, it’s unclear how much Dems would push back if it happens again It’s “a complicated issue,” one senior House Dem told me www.notus.org/policy/trans...
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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
🥁 Announcing the Public Domain Image Archive! 🥁 We are v excited to share our new sister-project, the Public Domain Image Archive (PDIA), a curated collection of 10k+ out-of-copyright historical images, all free to explore and reuse: pdimagearchive.org @pdimagearchive
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Julia Serano @juliaserano.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
"The goal of targeting trans women’s participation in sports is to create a federal law that declares trans women are men. Once that precedent is established, then the laws can become more restrictive until it’s no longer legally viable to exist as a trans person under federal law." 👇
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The Parker Out Of Space @tonyparkerart.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files. It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd conducted a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
“As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that job. So I have decided to leave the Washington Post” — Ann Telnaes, after drawing this cartoon, which included the image of a supplicant Jeff Bezos
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
I wrote about regulations today, and how courts took SCOTUS's message that they're free to do with them what they want now. The reason we know this: Judge Richard Griffin said so. "Applying Loper Bright means we can end the FCC’s vacillations,"he wrote in striking down the net-neutrality rule.
lawdork.com
In striking down net-neutrality rule, Sixth Circuit asserts newfound judicial supremacy
A panel of three GOP appointees used their post-Chevron judicial power, blocking a rule backed by the Biden administration that aimed to protect open internet access.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Americans are ~2.5x more likely to die in a crash than a Canadian, ~3.5x more likely than a Spaniard, and ~5x more likely than a Japanese person. Here are a few of the articles I wrote in 2024 trying to understand why the US is uniquely terrible at road safety. 🧵
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 27/12/2024
Federal officials say the United States saw an 18.1% increase in homelessness this year. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said that federally required tallies taken across the country in January found that more than 770,000 people were counted as homeless.
Homelessness in the U.S. is up 18%. The dramatic rise has been driven by a lack of affordable housing, as well as natural disasters and a surge of migrants, federal officials said.
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Seth D. Michaels @sethdmichaels.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is about how the undermining of public goods for private profit is willfully destructive to communities
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Jonathan Lyons @heartwoodandsteel.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
Just read the response from Costco to shareholders requesting it back down from DEI. It was glorious. It begins "Our Board has considered this proposal and believes … an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary." and gets better. A happy investor #diversityandinclusion
Screenshot of the statement from Costco Screenshot of the statement from Costco Screenshot of the statement from Costco
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