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Zoë Takaki

@zoetakaki.bsky.social
439 followers 29 following 190 posts

Freelance journalist based in Chicago. Read my stuff here zoetakakiworks.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 04/10/2026
From photographer Evan Stone: a member of Lang's crew inside a silly string covered car waved what appears to be a gun at the crowd this afternoon. A Bridgeview police officer can be seen peering inside the vehicle. He then swipes its side mirror back into position:
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 04/10/2026
Happening now in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview: A few hundred people are out protesting right-wing provocateur Jake Lang and his attempted "crusader march" on the local Palestine Fest going on nearby. Police in riot gear just formed a line, with Lang's group behind them.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 29/09/2026
New: We obtained witness videos and surveillance footage showing ICE parking their cars, arresting an observer, and transferring detainees in parking lots across 4 of Chicago's police districts. Local officials have tried banning ICE from city property. But incidents in the lots keep stacking up:
unraveledpress.com
In plain sight: a year of ICE using Chicago police parking lots for its operations
Videos and witness testimony show immigration agents continue using Chicago police station parking lots despite a ban on their access to city property. Records obtained from the Civilian Office of Pol...
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This week I saw two ICE abductions that will never leave my mind. Videos were from inside the car of those being detained. Both times, a child was in the backseat, watching their mother pleads to ICE agents not to take their father before their father was violently arrested in front of them.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 25/09/2026
Good morning from the ICE facility in Broadview, IL. As ICE vehicles trickle in and out of the lot, a small group of Chicagoland locals are holding a prayer service for those impacted by deportation efforts. The area around the facility is open, contrasting prior months of "protest zones."
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 20/09/2026
ICE has again shot someone.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 20/09/2026
Today at the Broadview ICE facility outside Chicago: Dozens of ICE agents violently confronted protesters, deploying chemical irritants on the crowd. Multiple people were injured. No arrests were observed.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 17/09/2026
“Wolinski now works for the Niles Police Department.”
chicago.suntimes.com
Chicago police supervisor who led botched Anjanette Young raid should be fired, appeals court rules
The appellate panel affirmed the Chicago Police Board’s 2023 decision to fire Sgt. Alex Wolinski, agreeing his failure to lead or intervene allowed the “horrible treatment” of Young.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
ICE activity in Chicago today: Before the sun rose, at 4am ICE agents conducted an arrest in Englewood. Videos show neighbors wailing Rapid responders then spotted ICE in Carol Stream. Then, ICE agents spent two hours driving around Albany Park, a community home to a large immigrant population.
ICE agents stand in the street near a black car and a white car. It is nighttime. One agent peers into the black car. One agent puts his hand up.9/16, 4:00 am. The Southwest Rapid Response Team confirmed ICE agents present on 57th/Aberdeen. At least one detention confirmed. Agents were driving two black Chevy Tahoes, two Dodge Durango’sAn ICE agent in a green vest stands in the street between a white car and a black carJeep Grand Cherokee Blanca FZ3750
Nissan Pathfinder blackFY11050
Ford Explorer NblackGC12067
Nissan Pathfinder NblackGC12085 
Ford Explorer NblackBD48453
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Everyday, the women of Hijas Del Pueblo water Silverio Villegas González’s memorial. One year after ICE killed him outside Chicago, flowers and tomatos grow tall in a detached garden. A memorial has been made permanent. But his case is still open, and agents names have yet to be made public.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 14/09/2026
New: Before Renée and Alex, ICE fatally shot Mexican immigrant Silverio Villegas González last fall outside Chicago in suburban Franklin Park. One year later, @domguan.bsky.social spent some time with the group of local women tending to his memorial. His family is still demanding answers:
unraveledpress.com
Growing Where He Died: Silverio Villegas González, One Year Later
One year on from the killing of Silverio Villegas González, a community of Franklin Park women continue the fight to keep his memory alive–through art, flowers, and “a culture of celebrating life.”
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A year ago today, border patrol agents killed Silverio Villegas González after he brought his kids to school outside Chicago. Today, the ICE detention center in Broadview, IL still stands, boarded up. Protestors question where the Broadview Mayor is as they demand the closure of the facility.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 12/09/2026
Happening now in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park: Community members have gathered to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the death of local resident Silverio Villegas González, whom an as-yet unidentified ICE agent shot and killed on this block at the start of "Operation Midway Blitz."
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Very proud of my @unraveledpress.com team 🥹
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 09/09/2026
Chicago-area members of Congress have asked DHS's Inspector General to investigate a "severe pattern of incidents of excessive force" by ICE and CBP agents. The letter heavily cites our recent report on an increasingly violent group of agents we tracked across Chicago, Minnesota, and Virginia.
documentcloud.org
ramirez-letter-illinois-accountability-commission-findings
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
BlueCollarJazz @domguan.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
@unraveledpress.com is punching way above its weight class, and we’d like to keep doing it! Every subscription counts!
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Support Unraveled
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Rapid responders are reporting that ICE has been very active today, being spotted in Albany Park, Jefferson Park, Humboldt Park, Portage Park, and McCook. Agents have been seen detaining residents on busy streets, people’s front yards, and inside a business. They also ignored calls for a warrant
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Chicago’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is holding a listening session where residents can share what they want to see in their next Police Superintendent. Last week, I published a story for @unraveledpress.com press diving into the commission’s current turmoil.
unraveledpress.com
Civilian oversight blues: inside Chicago’s ongoing police accountability meltdown
Chicago has a new community police oversight body that emerged in response to the historic 2020 protests. According to those elected to serve, however, it’s already full of cops.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Watch my breakdown of what’s been going on in Chicago’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability - a civilian-led body tasked with improving police accountability. Turns out, Chicago police have already influenced the oversight body, obstructing progress. For @unraveledpress.com
instagram.com
unraveled on Instagram: "@zoe.takaki breaks down her latest report on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability— The search for Chicago's next police superintendent is on...but dr...
127 likes, 10 comments - unraveledpress on September 2, 2026: "@zoe.takaki breaks down her latest report on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability— The search for Chicago's nex...
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
Jeffrey Rousseau @jrpotential.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Pierre Damas Bel:
“I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone,” he wrote on Instagram in late July. “Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.” Pierre Damas Bel
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 29/08/2026
Stories like this require real labor and expertise. We are 100% reader-funded, and your voluntary support is what makes our work possible. We need more monthly subscribers to keep reporting. Please consider signing up today:
unraveledpress.com
Support Unraveled
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
ICYMI: After the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Chicago created a civilian-led police accountability body so the community could have a say in how it is policed. Five years in, we see how Chicago police have already infiltrated that body. Now, the bodies own members question its capability:
unraveledpress.com
Civilian oversight blues: inside Chicago’s ongoing police accountability meltdown
Chicago has a new community police oversight body that emerged in response to the historic 2020 protests. According to those elected to serve, however, it’s already full of cops.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Essential, deeply-reported story by @zoetakaki.bsky.social on the history of Chicago's Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, as well as the police influence and bureaucratic dysfunction that have kept it from effectively carrying out its mission of civilian oversight of CPD.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
BlueCollarJazz @domguan.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Incredible, dedicated reporting from @zoetakaki.bsky.social on what’s looking more and more like regulatory capture by police. “In total, seven separate groups and agencies are now tasked with holding 11,500 police officers ‘accountable’ in some way. The CCPSA…has been wrought with dysfunction.”
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
Steve Held @peoplesfabric.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Four years into the creation of a new police accountability bureaucracy, @zoetakaki.bsky.social takes a look at how efforts to strengthen accountability have run up against the realities of police influence.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 27/08/2026
Another accountability-focused district councilor has expressed disappointment with how the first four years of this program have gone:
“During the election, I would get goosebumps talking about the transformative power of what district councilors and the commission can do,” 9th District Councilor Erin Vogel said. “And it’s been a disappointment that we haven’t been there. I no longer get goosebumps.”
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 27/08/2026
Less than a year into the CCPSA’s enactment, one district councilor told CCPSA executive director Adam Gross: “I believe that this is a failed project already. We have too many police officers in these roles.”
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 27/08/2026
Referred to as "the epitome of obstructionism” by one DC, Commissioner Sandra Wortham has strong ties to CPD. She simultaneously serves as board president of the Police Memorial Foundation. Her father & brother were both officers. She has repeatedly opposed stronger accountability measures.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 27/08/2026
Emails show how far CCPSA went to accommodate then-police superintendent Larry Snelling to appear and discuss CPD/ICE interactions. “We met ahead of time with him and basically gave him a script of the evening so that he could prepare and not be caught off guard,” wrote Commissioner Gina Piemonte.
Subject: Re: IMPORTANT: PLEASE REVIEW IMMEDIATELY RE EMAIL FROM CPD ABOUT NEXT WEEK’S SPECIAL MEETING

I opt for the last option:

Say that the Commission will determine who to invite to its meetings and how to structure them, that the Commission intends to proceed with subject mater experts on the agenda on a separate panel, and hopes that the Superintendent will attend.

Here are my thoughts: We have already accommodated him way too much. We had to bifurcate the hearing on 2/26 because he couldn’t be present. We are conducting a public hearing on April 2, Passover, because that’s the only date he was available. Then we met ahead of time with him and basically gave him a script of the evening so that he could prepare and not be caught off
guard. Very generous on our part. Then he refused to be part of a panel discussion so we changed the format for him. Now he’s refusing to even appear at a meeting where subject matter experts will also be presenting. In addition, he is deliberately misstating the purpose of the meeting so that he can control the narrative. Under these conditions I don’t know why we are bothering to have him at all. It will only serve to further enrage the community who is asking for accountability and transparency. Perfectly reasonable requests. I don’t know whether we can force him to participate. I don’t see the point of proceeding on his terms.

Gina A. Piemonte
Commissioner
West Side
Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 27/08/2026
NEW: Meltdowns, threats & FOP influence have marred the fight for civilian police accountability in Chicago. Some police district councilors question the future of the body they serve on as they battle CPD interests to get things done. The fault lines run deep. From @zoetakaki.bsky.social:
unraveledpress.com
Civilian oversight blues: inside Chicago’s ongoing police accountability meltdown
Chicago has a new community police oversight body that emerged in response to the historic 2020 protests. According to those elected to serve, however, it’s already full of cops.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I began looking into the CCPSA after at a listening session in January about ICE & CPD collaboration. Residents complained for hours about the commissions ineffectiveness. Once I started talking to those in the body, I began to understand why. Read my latest piece for @unraveledpress.com
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Have you seen that viral video of the ICE agent pointing a gun at a driver in Virginia? Turns out he has been threatening and abducting people across Chicago for a year and was in Minnesota during the winter. Check out how @unraveledpress.com put the pieces together.
unraveledpress.com
Chicago ICE team seen threatening drivers has roamed from Illinois to Minnesota to Virginia
A federal agent from Chicago identified by community members as 40-year-old Martin Lagunas was recorded pointing his gun in a Virginia woman’s face on Monday. His team of ICE agents has been doc...
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
BlueCollarJazz @domguan.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dozens of community members came to McKinley Park, Chicago yesterday to protest and document an ICE car that had been disabled during a detainment on I-55. The incident lasted almost four hours, as agents appeared to struggle getting a tow, including one scene where a truck arrived and quickly left.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 24/08/2026
Happening now: A crowd is gathering outside a Target parking lot off 33rd and Damen on Chicago's south side, in reaponse to ICE agents who appear to have been involved with some kind of car collision earlier today. Press, elected officials also on scene.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
At the Broadview ICE facility outside Chicago, 12 law enforcement vehicles have showed up in response to people protesting ICE outside the building. So far we have witnessed two arrests by Broadview Police officers. Bellwood police are also present.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 18/08/2026
Happening now: A rally is underway in downtown Chicago in support of Keshia Golden, a local mother facing murder charges for fatally stabbing her abusive partner Calvin Sidney, reportedly to defend herself and her-then unborn child after Sidney slammed her head into a kitchen counter, in 2022.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Chicagoan’s will be sharing what they want to see in their next Police Superintendent at tonight’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability listening session.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
man fuck these air and water show jets
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 14/08/2026
New: We pieced together dozens of violent incidents from the ICE agents seen in viral videos from Virginia this week. They've roamed across multiple states, but are most often working in Chicago. We also verified the identity of Martin Lagunas, the fed who pointed his gun at a woman on Monday:
unraveledpress.com
Chicago ICE team seen threatening drivers has roamed from Illinois to Minnesota to Virginia
A federal agent from Chicago identified by community members as 40-year-old Martin Lagunas was recorded pointing his gun in the face of a Virginia woman on Monday. His team of ICE agents has been docu...
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Nearly every day, federal immigration agents continue to violently detain Chicagoans. Today, rapid responders have already confirmed five ICE sightings and at least three detentions. This is most likely an undercount. Humboldt, Hermosa, Carol Stream, St. Charles and West Chicago were hit.
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 10/08/2026
A lot has been changing at Unraveled lately as we prepare to bring you fresh stories, a newsletter (!!!) for those wishing to escape the doomscroll, and more on the ground reporting. You may have noticed some updates to our site. More coming! For now, let's get reacquainted:
unraveledpress.com
About Us
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 31/07/2026
New: Backroom drama boiled over Thursday during the monthly meeting of Chicago's Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. At the center of it, questions over which two commissioners should lead the search process for candidates to replace former CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling.
unraveledpress.com
Tensions between police accountability commissioners boil over
The city body tasked with searching for Chicago’s next police superintendent candidates argued viciously over one another’s capabilities on Thursday evening at a monthly meeting.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Chicago’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability are holding their monthly meeting tonight at the Copernicus Center on the city’s northwest side
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
A small group of protesters gather at Federal Plaza in response to the fatal police shooting of Corey Ruiz which took place in Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 22.
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Zoë Takaki @zoetakaki.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Chicagoans came to the Broadview ICE facility to hold a funeral procession for the 118 people who have died at the hands of federal immigration enforcement since 2018. This comes after 52-year-old father Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by ICE agents on Tuesday morning.
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 02/07/2026
Earlier this week, Intelligencer ran a piece called "ICE Won." We definitely don't agree with the title, but its gist—that the normalization of federal police violence is accelerating—is proving accurate. ICE arrests roughly doubled in Chicagoland in June over May. Some more thoughts on that:
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 01/07/2026
CHICAGO!!!! Next Wednesday, JULY 8, @andrefor40th.bsky.social is hosting me for a public, lunchtime zoom call, where I will tell you everything you need to know about Stonepeak, the ICE charter airline owner that wants to buy your parking meters. bit.ly/iceparkingmeters
WHAT DOES ICE HAVE TO DO WITH CHICAGO'S PARKING METERS?
VIRTUAL
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8TH | 12-1PM
Join our conversation with Gillian Brockell, a multimedia journalist and essayist. She has researched flights operated by Omni Air International as an ICE contractor. Omni is owned by Stonepeak Partners, the group that wants to buy and operate Chicago Parking Meters.
SCAN TO REGISTER OR FOLLOW THIS LINK
bit.ly/iceparkingmeters
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 30/06/2026
Seven months ago, publications everywhere were extremely hesitant to name federal agents despite their violent behavior in public. With little budget or legal support, we took a risk when others wouldn't—because it was the right thing to do, and because the public needed to know:
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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 29/06/2026
Good morning. It would mean a lot to us to see this (relatively small) fundraising need not just met today, but exceeded. Please chip in if you can:
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Reposted by Zoë Takaki
BlueCollarJazz @domguan.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Good afternoon from the ICE facility at Broadview, Illinois, where protesters are preparing for their weekly Saturday demonstration. Passing cars coming off I-290 are greeted by protesters with megaphones. Sign: “PRITZKER IS WEAK ON ICE”
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