122 candidates file for District Council elections

Chicago, IL – Monday, November 21 marked an important day in the fight for community control of Chicago’s police on two fronts.

Chicago, IL – Kenya Franklin recalls her nephew’s unjust beating by Chicago police in 2000. “It made me fear for my son’s life.”

Chicago IL – On November 7, more than 30 activists from Students for a Democratic Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization gathered for a march at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Students demanded the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus and provide free birth control for all students. The protest is part of an ongoing campaign by Students for a Democratic Society to demand the university do more to defend women’s and reproductive rights in the face of the mounting Republican attacks.

Chicago, IL – On October 31, a student at Jones College Prep (JCP) in Chicago dressed up in Nazi uniform and was allowed to walk across a stage during a “Halloween Costume Showcase.” The video exposing this incident has amassed over 158,000 views. In it, booing can be heard while the student goose steps across the stage and salutes, further solidifying this overt act of antisemitism and white supremacy.

Chicago, IL – The November 8 midterm election is important around the country, as the seemingly formidable reactionary wave in electoral politics continues. In general, the task in most states is to defeat the most reactionary and backwards candidates.

Chicago, IL – On Monday, October 24 more than a dozen activists from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Anakbayan, a patriotic Filipino youth organization, and Young Democratic Socialists of America joined together for a demonstration. Students marched on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ROTC building to denounce the Biden administration’s intervention in Haiti and demand an end to the 12-year long UN occupation of the island. The protest was planned in connection with the United National Anti-War Coalition’s week of action.

Chicago, IL – The first meeting of the Interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) took place on the evening of Thursday September 29 at Malcolm X College. The meeting was attended by almost 200 people, most of who were members or supporters of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) coalition. The CCPSA introduced itself to the community, set up committees to do its work, and elected Anthony Driver and Oswaldo Gomez as its president and vice president. The public comments were filled with support for the CCPSA and demands that the mayor and city council give the Interim Commission the staff and budget necessary to transform the city’s public safety system.

Chicago, IL – Using the tag line, “Going to the Heart of the People’s Struggle,” our podcast has quickly spread across the country. Fight Back! Radio host Richard Berg noted, “We do interviews with the real leaders of the people’s struggles. We go past the bourgeois think tanks by talking to activists that are organizing workers, oppressed nationality peoples, students and other fighters.”

Chicago, IL – On September 7, 30 students marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to demand the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus that is free for students and the community.

Chicago, IL – Chicago saw two developments this past week in the struggle for democratic control of the police by the Black and Latino communities in Chicago. First, after a long delay, Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). This was created out of the passage of historic legislation in 2021, Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS), the most democratic legislation for police accountability in the country.

Chicago, IL – The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) Coalition held a press conference on Tuesday morning, August 30, in response to Mayor Lightfoot's Monday appointment of the citywide Interim Commission for Public Safety. According to the ECPS ordinance, the commission should have been appointed in January. The coalition held a press conference on July 20 demanding that the mayor end the delays and appoint the Interim Commission. With the appointments made, the coalition set its eyes towards the local District Council elections coming up in February 2023.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST) of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Chicago, IL – On August 1, Teamster locals across the country kicked off their 2023 contract campaign under the slogan, “UPS Teamsters United for a Strong Contract!” Members participated in rallies, parking lot meetings and t-shirt distributions throughout the week to show the company that Teamsters are ready to fight for a contract that includes part-time raises, an end to the two-tier 22.4 classification, an end to harassment, and safer working conditions. The current contract, which represents around 350,000 UPS workers, expires July 31, 2023.

Chicago, IL – The families of a group of wrongfully convicted Black men – Michael Minnifield, Isaiah Brady, Omarr Parks, Chaz Thrailkill and Kenyatta Brown – who are incarcerated in Menard prison held a rally of over 100 people on Monday, August 1 outside the ABC TV headquarters in Chicago.

Chicago, IL – A series of victories was won in the past month by the movement to free survivors of torture and wrongful conviction at the hands of Chicago Police Department. Clayborn Smith, Marcellous Pittman, Juan Hernandez, Rosendo Hernandez, Arthur Almendarez, John Galvan, Eruby Abrego, Jeremiah Cain, David Gecht and David Colon have all had historic judgments in their cases.

Chicago, IL – The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) Coalition held a press conference on July 20, to demand that Mayor Lori Lightfoot appoint the Interim Commission for Public Safety and Accountability immediately. According to the ECPS ordinance passed on July 21 last year, the Interim Commission should have been appointed in December.

Chicago, IL – 200 protesters marched in Chicago's Federal Plaza, Wednesday evening, July 6, to demand justice for Jayland Walker, who was murdered on June 27 by Akron Ohio police. Speakers at the rally connected the murder to similar police killings and other police crimes such as torture and wrongful conviction. The protesters demanded that the officers who killed Jayland Walker be convicted, and that community control of the police be enacted.

Chicago, IL – Approximately 7000 people rallied in Federal Plaza on the evening of Friday, June 24, to protest Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The crowd was composed of activists and supporters of diverse genders, nationalities and political tendencies united in their anger at the attack on reproductive rights, most prominently the right to an abortion.

Chicago, IL—Sarah Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, spoke on a panel with labor negotiator and author Joe Burns. They discussed how to fight the big corporate firms in the transportation sector in talk titled “Using the Railway Labor Act to Our Advantage.” They highlighted how different labor laws for the transportation sector benefit their ability to lead the flight attendant union in struggle with big corporate owners.

Chicago, IL- En un evento trascendental en Chicago, los fundadores de Young Lords (Jóvenes Señores) le pasaron la antorcha a una nueva generación. La ceremonia emotiva del 4 de Junio involucró al Comité Central de los Young Lords dirigido por José “Cha Cha” Jiménez colocando medallones sobre las cabezas de más de 50 miembros de New Era Young Lords (Jóvenes Señores de la Nueva Era). Los activistas jóvenes de siete ciudades y Puerto Rico llevaban con orgullo sus boinas moradas y sus distintivas camisas de los Young Lords. Los medallones dicen: “Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazón”, con el logotipo original de Young Lords.