Category Archives: Politics

Should Ukrainians Surrender for World Peace?

Posted on May 2023 by Richard Esbenshade

The February 24 one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw no respite for either the volunteer and professional Ukrainian troops or the civilian population. The Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine and the areas along the military … Continue reading →

439 total views

Posted in Eastern Europe, International, International, Politics, Section, Ukraine, War | Tagged Eastern Europe, peace, the Left, Ukraine, war | Comments Off

Who’s Your Family?

Posted on February 2023 by C. Owen

Having just survived the winter holidays, the stressors and supports brought about by family could not be more present in our minds. However, for some of us in the American workforce, even the discussion of our loved ones at home … Continue reading →

571 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Community, Human Rights, LGBTQ, Politics, Section | Tagged community, family, human rights, LBGTQ+ | Comments Off

The Move toward Socialism in the United States

Posted on November 2022 by Jim Barrett

People on the Left are understandably preoccupied with the growing strength of fascism, white supremacist and antisemitic rhetoric and violence, and the growth of extreme right-wing groups. There is no doubt that these developments represent an obstacle to badly needed … Continue reading →

352 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Labor, Politics, Politics, socialism | Tagged labor history, politics, socialism, US history | Comments Off

A Time of Monsters: The New Nadir and the Crisis of the Black Worker

Posted on September 2022 by Gus Wood

We currently reside in what Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci called “A Time of Monsters.” Exacerbated by the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, the Black working classes continue to struggle under what Black Studies scholar Sundiata Cha-Jua has dubbed “the New Nadir.” For … Continue reading →

321 total views

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Economy, labor, Labor/Economics, Politics | Tagged Black workers, economic inequality, economic racism, new nadir, underemployment | Comments Off

Champaign Can End its Housing Discrimination

Posted on September 2022 by Housing Working Group of the Champaign-Urbana Democratic Soc

As previously reported in the Public i, housing discrimination in Champaign is a chronic issue. Following on the “tough on crime era,” since 1994 Champaign has allowed landlords to reject tenant lease applications based on their conviction record—in excess of … Continue reading →

637 total views

Posted in Champaign County, Housing, Politics, Politics, racial segregation in Champaign/Urbana | Tagged Champaign City Council, community activism, housing discrimination | Comments Off

Progressive Dilemmas on Ukraine

Posted on May 2022 by Richard Esbenshade

The Left has tangled itself in knots over how to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Early statements, such as by CodePink and Black Alliance for Peace, while putatively opposing war, laid emphasis on US and Western responsibility, NATO’s … Continue reading →

556 total views

Posted in Eastern Europe, Foreign Policy, Imperialism, International, International, Politics, Refugees, Ukraine, War | Comments Off

The Great De-Centering: The World after Ukraine

Posted on May 2022 by Janice Jayes

The Ukraine war is a turning point in history, but not the one you might be expecting. It won’t revive the Cold War. It won’t determine the survival of the Liberal World Order (whatever that is). And most decidedly, it … Continue reading →

613 total views

Posted in Foreign Policy, International, International, Middle East, Politics, Racism, Ukraine, War | Comments Off

What’s With All That Socialism in South America?

Posted on March 2022 by Michael Brun

The past twenty or so years in South America have seen several powerful electoral victories of socialist-aligned candidates and parties, followed by years of reform. Eventually the momentum for change slowed, however, to be followed by disappointment and defeat. This … Continue reading →

1,130 total views

Posted in Economics, Imperialism, International, Latin America, Politics, Section, socialism | Tagged Bolivia, economics, Ecuador, political theory, socialism, South America, Venezuela | Comments Off

Victory! Dynegy Will Move Its Ash

Posted on September 2021 by Pam and Lan Richart

No More “Cap and Run” After a multi-year campaign calling for the clean-up of coal ash along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion, Illinois’ only National Scenic River, Dynegy Midwest Generation, owner of the coal ash, has finally agreed to … Continue reading →

1,240 total views

Posted in Environment, Environment, IL, Politics | Comments Off

Slightly Out of Focus: A Review of One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah

Posted on August 2021 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

For more than 70 years and over a century, respectively, television and cinema have presented demeaning images of Black people. And for equally as long, African Americans have responded with boycotts, pickets and alternative visions that “depict[ed] our men and … Continue reading →

666 total views

Posted in 1968 Revolt, African American, African Americans, Arts, cinema, film, Politics, Racism, Voices, Voices of Color | Comments Off

Turn Off the Spigot: Money vs. Med4All

Posted on February 2021 by Pat Simpson

The COVID pandemic has exposed the flaws in the US health care system as never before, reinforcing longstanding arguments for creating an expanded Medicare for All system in the country. The Public i has previously published articles (see June, November … Continue reading →

Posted in health care, IL, Politics, Politics | Comments Off

If You Could Save a Million Lives, Would You Do It?

Posted on February 2021 by Mark Weisbrot

This article was first published in The Hill on October 1, 2020. Reprinted with permission. If you had the opportunity to save a million people from preventable death, would you do it? These are people who would otherwise fall victim … Continue reading →

Posted in COVID-19, Economics, International, International, Politics | Comments Off

Pro-Business Bias and Conservative Extremism at the Supreme Court

Posted on June 2020 by Patricia Simpson

As recent books and law review articles have confirmed, the Supreme Court has been moving to the right since the Nixon Administration. Abetted by Republican politicians, anti-abortion advocates and organizations, and conservative legal entities like the Federalist Society, this rightward … Continue reading →

1,056 total views

Posted in Justice, Politics, Supreme Court | Comments Off

Decatur Demagoguery: Part 1—City Council

Posted on March 2020 by Allan Axelrod

On February 3, 2020, six of the seven Decatur City Council members (Councilman Rodney Walker was absent) gathered to consider a proposal to restrict public comment regarding city annexation of territory and its impact on the reporting of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off

Bolton is Out! But Imperialist Aggression Against Iran is Still In

Posted on November 2019 by Nick Goodell

On September 10, National Security Advisor John Bolton was fired from his post at the White House. With one of the staunchest advocates for US imperialism now out of the Trump administration, some were optimistic that the warmongering and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Policy, Imperialism, International, Middle East, Politics | Comments Off

Need for System Change

Posted on June 2019 by Karen Aram

The time is long past due for American citizens to realize that our political and economic systems are untenable. Trump is awful, no question there. And for those who continue to support the Democratic candidates as the lesser evil—fine, that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Foreign Policy, Immigration, Imperialism, Politics | Comments Off

Unacceptable Levels—Our Body Burden, Our Planet Burden

Posted on May 2019 by Lois Kain

Our planet is drowning in synthetic chemicals. Our bodies have become synthetic chemical processing plants. A 2005 Environmental Working Group study of umbilical cord blood revealed that babies are born already pre-polluted with over 200 industrial contaminates. Hundreds of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, film, Politics, Public Health | Comments Off

Illiberal America: A Report Card

Posted on March 2019 by David Prochaska

I never thought I would live to see the U.S. turn into the illiberal, authoritarian, populist, white-nationalist country it has already increasingly become in early 2019. Illiberalism Turns Liberal Democracy on its Head “Liberal democracy” is characterized in theory by … Continue reading →

Posted in bigotry, Democracy, Elections, Justice, labor, Media, Politics, Trump | Comments Off

Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago

Posted on December 2018 by John Palen

If you’ve read Robert Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson, you know what it’s like to be kidnapped by a historian who’s also a great story teller. The reading lamp burns late. I’ve just finished a new book on Illinois history … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Chicago, Politics | Comments Off

Getting Money out of Politics and Beyond: A Call for a We the People Amendment

Posted on December 2018 by Greg Coleridge

The midterm elections are over. Candidates have been elected and unelected. Ballot issues have been passed and rejected. What hasn’t changed one iota, however, are the catastrophic harms to people, communities, the natural world and our republican form of self-government … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizens United, Corporations, Elections, Politics | Tagged Citizens United, Corporations, Elections | Comments Off