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Tom Schenk Jr

@tomschenkjr.bsky.social
283 followers 169 following 32 posts

The product of too much SimCity and watching too much West Wing. Managing Director of Analytics KPMG; former Chicago Chief Data Officer; former Iowa Dept. of Education

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Reposted by Tom Schenk Jr
Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Wonderful. The CityKey program is a safe, wonderful program that should be emulated. Unfortunately, we are in a climate where this user-friendly portal is risky. If you reside in Chicago, do take a look at getting one at one of the in-person sign-up events.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Wonderful. The CityKey program is a safe, wonderful program that should be emulated. Unfortunately, we are in a climate where this user-friendly portal is risky. If you reside in Chicago, do take a look at getting one at one of the in-person sign-up events.
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Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
NEW: Chicago will no longer allow residents to apply online for a municipal ID card after ICE officials subpoenaed records identifying applicants for the ID, known as the City Key, City Clerk Anna Valencia announced @wttw.bsky.social
news.wttw.com
Chicago to Stop Accepting Online Applications for Municipal IDs After ICE Subpoena, City Clerk Says
Chicagoans can still make an appointment online to apply in-person for a City Key ID card, officials said.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
This is shocking. I directly worked on designing the integration and protections of CityKey. It was designed to provide an ID, be a transit card, library and discount card. It was to *never* create a digital record while being compatible with state and city laws. Subpoena-proof.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
We have been working to define how we'll scale bringing science into policies at state and local governments. Bringing MetroLab into the Federation of American Scientists means we'll be able to bring incredible amount of expertise for new and exciting programs.
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Federation of American Scientists @scientistsorg.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
🗣️We’re excited to announce that MetroLab Network is now officially a part of the Federation of American Scientists. We’re looking forward to improving the delivery of evidence-based policy into local government. Learn more about this new chapter ⤵️ fas.org/publication/...
fas.org
The Federation of American Scientists Brings MetroLab Network Into Organization - Federation of American Scientists
FAS is excited to announce it has acquired MetroLab Network (MLN), bringing together two teams with a shared commitment to harnessing science, technology and innovation to drive impact in new ways in ...
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Reposted by Tom Schenk Jr
Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 20/05/2025
I've got my Chicago CityKey on me, do you? Proud to be one of the nearly 150,000 Chicagoans alongside @chicityclerk.bsky.social with one during the seventh anniversary of this incredible program that's eliminated barriers and increased access to all Chicago has to offer.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
This is a solid bill. Some of the most skilled folks I’ve worked with didn’t have degrees—they had hands-on expertise that grads often take years to develop. We needn't treat diplomas as proxies for talent for every job. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
chicago.suntimes.com
City Council committee OKs removal of college degree requirement for city jobs
If, as expected, the full City Council approves the switch to "skill-based hiring," Chicago would join the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Minneapolis-St. Paul, in “tearing the paper ceiling" tha...
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Aryn Braun @arynbraun.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Looking to talk to current or former federal workers at NOAA for a story for The Economist. Please share far and wide! I’m on signal at abraun.99
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Rebecca Williams @rebeccawilliams.info · 05/05/2025
I have a couple of speaking gigs coming up: - UIC Law Thursday to talk about DOGE & data privacy www.eventbrite.com/e/second-ann... - BPS in late June to talk about Digi ID & ACLU's guidelines www.btcpolicysummit.org I could talk about these topics forever.
eventbrite.com
Second Annual Information and Privacy Law Program
In-Person Event
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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
Figured I’d hop on here today for the 15th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. With everything going on right now, it’s easy to feel like regular folks can’t make a difference – but the ACA is a reminder that change is possible when we fight for progress.
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Michael @donohoe.dev · 28/02/2025
This is amazing. Harvard has amassed a 16TB collection covering more than 311K datasets and a complete archive of federal public datasets linked by data.gov - with ongoing updates. lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2025/02...
lil.law.harvard.edu
Announcing the Data.gov Archive | Library Innovation Lab
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
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ajp @popkulturekills.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
last year, we stumbled upon chicago factbooks - the only source of historic chicago rent data, going back to 1930. without the resources for a larger digitization project, we took the simplest approach: manual data entry. once we adjusted the rents for inflation, the facts really came to life… 🧵
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Dean Eckles @eckles.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Does anyone have a favorite field experiment (or A/B test) with public data where there is outcome data over time, ideally something like daily data or even timestamped events? This is a common format in industry, but few public data sets look like this.
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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
New: DOGE's spending has been secret. No longer. My colleagues have uncovered it. www.propublica.org/article/doge...
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Am I the only person where chatGPT reduces the number of em-dashes being used?
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Lake Michigan! Live! @lake-michigan.live · 14/02/2025
Current* conditions near Chicago, IL:
View of Chicago skyline from William E. Dever Crib in Lake Michigan east of North Avenue. // Image captured at: 2025-02-14 13:00:01 UTC (about 3 min. prior to this post) // Current Temp in Chicago: 7.06 F | -13.86 C // Precip: broken clouds // Wind: SW at 2.997 mph | 4.82 kph // Humidity: 79%
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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 08/02/2025
This is a very cool map that shows an overlay of the Chicago River as it was before the city expanded eastward via land reclamation
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
This is absolutely right and the tension around USDS with existing departments was notable. The organizational structure was effective, but a gamble.
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Mike Sarasti @sarasti.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
www.404media.co/archivists-w...
404media.co
Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov
More than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from data.gov since Trump was inaugurated. But analyzing exactly what happened and where it went is going to take some time.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Hey folks - anyone have seen good tracking on any public data that has been removed? Similarly, seeing any efforts to mirror data?
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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
In my latest @npr.org story, officials and data users warn that the reliability of the U.S. government statistics used to track the country’s economy and population is under threat because of budget concerns. That's before any new funding cuts by President Trump and Congress.
npr.org
Experts warn about the 'crumbling infrastructure' of federal government data
Unstable federal funding puts at risk the government statistics used to track the U.S. economy and population, officials and data users warn. That's before any cuts by President Trump and Congress.
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Sam Thielmonster @samthielman.com · 12/01/2025
“I don’t understand what produce in the Central Valley has to do with fires in LA” this is the subject of one of the most famous movies ever made, in which it is explained to Jack Nicholson at length by the director of The Maltese Falcon
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Jer Thorp @jerthorp.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
I'm co-leading some birding + diving trips to Indonesia this year. The 1st ones will be in Raja Ampat, home to pristine reefs & some wonderful endemic birds. We'll be on a four cabin catamaran w/ a dive instructor and a local bird guide. First trip in late Feb! DM me if you're interested. 🪶
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Davis Vaughan @davisvaughan.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
My wife secretly hand painted a number of wooden hex logos of #rstats packages I’ve created / worked on over the years, I love them so much!! Each is roughly the size of an open hand.
Hand painted wooden hex logos of various R packages
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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
My colleague Daniel @americalabs.org sheds light on what has happened to open government nonprofits in the U.S.A. over the past decade — which has been my sector of work. It’s been a hard era, at the worst time. www.thebulwark.com/p/open-gover... I hope funders read this, & act.
thebulwark.com
Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most
Why it’s happening and what can be done about it.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
I'm disheartened to hear that Raed Mansour will be leaving the city. During my tenure he was an excellent partner and bridge to Department of Health. Predictive food inspections and predicting elevated blood lead levels were greatly improved by his participation. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...
chicago.suntimes.com
City Hall ouster exposes rift in Johnson’s environmental mission
Chicago’s point person on air pollution and extreme heat was pushed out, raising questions about the mayor's commitment to neighborhoods choked by pollution.
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Mark Headd @mheadd.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
I wrote this post on residency requirements for working in city government a while back, and I'm re-sharing it now because I think it will be important for state and local governments to meet the moment that is coming. 1/2 civic.io/2015/10/10/r...
civic.io
Rethinking Residency Requirements
As we move further and further into the digital age, the governments that are most successful at exploiting technology to improve performance and efficiency will be those that are built to attract …
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I had a chance to work with Gia back when she was at Chicago Parks District. She's wonderful and innovative; always looking outside the proverbial box. This is great news.
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Mike Sarasti @sarasti.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
First starter pack. I assembled a collection of innovation / data professionals who work / have worked in and around municipal government. Let it be a reminder that there are talented, passionate people working to make communities better. go.bsky.app/2F5V9bS
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matty @mattio.bsky.social · 04/11/2024
Folks in #datavis, #opendata, and #civictech - my bookmarks folder is woefully out of date. What are your favorite government websites where gov agencies publish, visualize, and communicate data? Any country, any level of government. Thanks in advance!
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Arpit Gupta @arpitrage.bsky.social · 31/10/2024
Note that Alain Bertaud was skeptical of this sort of pedestrianization. Order without Design thought has taken over urbanism; but cities are not just job markets; they are also about consumption, especially in a world with remote work.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 31/10/2024
A note on #opendata practices.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 26/10/2024
I was just reminded that ISO 37120 exists and it is still unbelievably bad.
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 24/10/2024
We are in the proto-phase of arcologies. Density built with nature overflowing from the frames www.designboom.com/architecture...
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Alexander Howard @digiphile.bsky.social · 24/10/2024
NB: the new WH.gov/open isn’t linked to its own disclosures or the USA page on Open Government Partnership, just USGSA. There is no Open Government Memorandum or Directive, nor dashboard of updated agency #OpenGov plans, like NARA or Commerce. www.opengovpartnership.org/stories/six-...
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 16/10/2024
I'm hiring for more roles! DevOps Engineer (senior) www.kpmguscareers.com/jobdetail/?j... GIS Developer (specialist) www.kpmguscareers.com/jobdetail/?j... Power BI Developer (specialist) www.kpmguscareers.com/jobdetail/?j... Fullstack Developer (senior) www.kpmguscareers.com/jobdetail/?j...
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Arpit Gupta @arpitrage.bsky.social · 14/10/2024
Remote work-fueled migration and plummeting demographics mean that cities are going to empty out of children, and are then at risk of further population declines unless they get migration. This may not yield affordability, depending on how demand for space evolves
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Tom Schenk Jr @tomschenkjr.bsky.social · 15/10/2024
Oof, that decline from the early 10s...
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Jared Rutecki @jaredrutecki.bsky.social · 19/10/2023
Demand for a Chicago CityKey skyrocketed during the past year. City officials have issued 150% more municipal ID cards so far in 2023 than in all of 2021 and 17% more than in all of 2022.
news.wttw.com
Municipal ID Program Being ‘Crushed’ by Demand From Migrants, City
City officials have issued 150% more municipal ID cards so far in 2023 than in all of 2021 and 17% more than in all of 2022, according to city data.
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