Category Archives: National

Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”

Posted on 04/04/2021 by Carol Skalnik Leff

  The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits “excessive” bail, a prohibition that dates back to English common law, and is largely honored in the breach. In Champaign County Jail, on any given day this past winter, there were … Continue reading →

Posted in Court System, IL, incarceration, Justice, National, Women | Comments Off on Bail Systems as Wealth-Based Incarceration, or “No Money, No Justice”

The Haters Among Them

Posted on 04/03/2021 by Pat Simpson

The number is thirty so far, thirty police officers charged with the act of participating in the Capitol insurrection last January. Many, many Americans felt shock, and media analysts expressed particular outrage, to find men in blue—perhaps even waving blue-line, … Continue reading →

Posted in bigotry, National, Police, police accountability, Racism, White Nationalism, Women | Comments Off on The Haters Among Them

The Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and Bernie Sanders Campaigns

Posted on 10/16/2016 by Al Kagan

Bio-box: While a student, Al Kagan worked on the Eugene McCarthy campaign for president in New Hampshire, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC., and experienced the 1968 Democratic Convention. He also did a bit of work on the Bernie Sanders … Continue reading →

Posted in National, Politics | Comments Off on The Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and Bernie Sanders Campaigns

Orlando Shooter Was A Product of US Hyper-Masculinity

Posted on 07/14/2016 by Tariq Khan

Like so many others, I’ve been at a loss trying to make sense of the heinous act of anti-queer mass murder in Orlando. The following are some of my scattered thoughts on the topic, some of which I originally posted … Continue reading →

Posted in International, LGBTQA, National, Politics | Comments Off on Orlando Shooter Was A Product of US Hyper-Masculinity

Children With Incarcerated Parents Played Key Role in Phone Justice Victory!

Posted on 11/19/2015 by Brian Dolinar

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted recently to cap the rates of phone calls from prisons and jails after years of profiteering by telecommunications companies that have made millions off of those incarcerated and their families. In her comments before … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Community Forum, Human Rights, IMC, National, News, Policing, Politics, Prisoners, UC-IMC, Voices of Color | Comments Off on Children With Incarcerated Parents Played Key Role in Phone Justice Victory!

Why the Republicans Were So Successful in the Mid-Term Elections

Posted on 01/30/2015 by David Johnson

It is obvious from the recent mid-term elections that the Democratic Party nation-wide is in crisis. The corporate media states that the Democratic Party must become more “centrist,” meaning that the Democratic Party needs to be more like the Republicans. … Continue reading →

Posted in National, Politics | Comments Off on Why the Republicans Were So Successful in the Mid-Term Elections

50th Anniversary March on Washington: Room for Criticism; Room for Hope

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Patricia Simpson

This little light of mine I’m going let it shine – in North Carolina! It’s Aug. 24 and we have made it to the 50th Anniversary of the original March on Washington.  Germaine Light, my Central Illinois Jobs with Justice … Continue reading →

Posted in National | Comments Off on 50th Anniversary March on Washington: Room for Criticism; Room for Hope

Unleashing the Whirlwinds of Revolt: A Reflection on the MOW by Sundiata Cha-Jua

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

Sundiata Cha-Jua, professor of history and African American studies, recently spoke with the U of I News Bureau’s Craig Chamberlain about the 1963 March on Washington. Can you set the stage for the March on Washington? What was happening 50 … Continue reading →

Posted in National | Comments Off on Unleashing the Whirlwinds of Revolt: A Reflection on the MOW by Sundiata Cha-Jua

The Sound Before the Fury: The California Prison Hunger Strike

Posted on 08/23/2011 by Gregory Koger

Beginning on July 1, 2011, hundreds of prisoners of all races in California’s Pelican Bay SHU (“Security Housing Unit”) began a historic hunger strike to demand an end to the cruel and inhumane treatment that they suffer under – including … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, National, Politics, Prisoners | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Sound Before the Fury: The California Prison Hunger Strike

NFL Labor Lessons

Posted on 08/23/2011 by Neil Parthun

The NFL lockout is over! At the outset, things did not look good for the players. There were worries about DeMaurice Smith, the new executive director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), having to learn the ropes during first labor … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor/Economics, National, Politics, Politics | Comments Off on NFL Labor Lessons

Public i addendum (to article on $50,000 award for FBI and St. Paul police actions)

Posted on 06/23/2011 by Belden Fields

(291 words) The Public i’s addendum to article on $50,000 settlement from FBI and St. Paul Police In the November 2008 issue of the Public i, we published an article on the “preemptive” raids made by the FBI and local … Continue reading →

Posted in National, Policing, UC-IMC | Comments Off on Public i addendum (to article on $50,000 award for FBI and St. Paul police actions)

Statement From Socialist Forum of Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 05/20/2011 by Belden Fields

Our Democracy Has Been Replaced By a Plutocracy The present assault on working people and the poor shows us clearly the class warfare inherent in capitalism.  The system aims to treat everything, including people, as commodities in order to maximize … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Labor/Economics, National, Politics | Comments Off on Statement From Socialist Forum of Champaign-Urbana

Awakening to The Limits of the Obama Presidency

Posted on 05/20/2011 by Antonia Darder

There are folks who seem to keep hoping that Obama has a “progressive” side which we will all soon see emerge—reminiscent of the transformation of Clark Kent to Superman in the phone booth. Yet, I can’t help wondering if all … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor/Economics, National, Politics | Comments Off on Awakening to The Limits of the Obama Presidency

2010 U. S. Social Forum, Detroit

Posted on 07/05/2010 by Sarah Ross

If you want to connect to people involved in just about every social justice issue our nation faces, you would find your people at the US Social Forum. The first USSF was held in Atlanta in 2007. This year the … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor/Economics, National | Leave a comment

The Legacy Of The 1999 WTO “Battle Of Seattle” On Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 11/04/2009 by David Johnson

During the late summer and early fall of 1999, I saw a multitude of e-mails and postings on the relatively new internet, from numerous citizens’ organizations and individuals, indicating their plans to go to Seattle in November to protest the … Continue reading →

Posted in IMC, Media, National, UC-IMC | Leave a comment

Unifying Our Nation and Resolving Our Crisis in Health Care

Posted on 04/02/2009 by Dennis Lazof

THE DASCHLE-LAMBREW POSITION, as expressed by Barack Obama during the campaign, contends that single-payer (SP, approximately Canadian-style) health care makes the most sense for its efficiency and ability to stabilize health care financing. But that SP is “not politically feasible … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, National | Leave a comment

U.S. Government’s Anti-Democratic Media Operations

Posted on 08/26/2007 by Belden Fields

Robert McChesney’s and Mike Weisbrot’s article on the Venezuelan government’s lifting of the license of RCTV and the outcry in the U.S. over its being a violation of the freedom of the press needs to be situated in the context … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, National | Leave a comment

Media Reform Activists Come Together in Memphis

Posted on 02/25/2007 by Marcia Zumbahlen

The 2007 Media Reform conference organized by Free Press met in Memphis, Tennessee this year. After holding conferences in Madison and St. Louis, this year’s organizers are to be congratulated for taking the event to the South, where many stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, National | Leave a comment

New York City IMC Responds to the Death of Brad Will

Posted on 11/25/2006 by New York City IMC

New York City Brad Will was killed on October 27, 2006, in Oaxaca, Mexico, while working as a journalist for the global Indymedia network. He was shot in the torso while documenting an armed, paramilitary assault on the Popular Assembly … Continue reading →

Posted in IMC, International, National | Leave a comment

Little ‘Gitmo’: Activists Held in Captivity during the Republican National Convention

Posted on 10/25/2004 by Public i

Media Center were arrested in a mass round-up of peaceful demonstrators just one block from the site of the former World Trade Center in New York City. The arrest led to a two and a half day ordeal for the … Continue reading →

Posted in National | Leave a comment