Republicans in Congress are holding food assistance for 42 million Americans hostage to force through Donald Trump’s budget — a plan that would raise healthcare premiums for millions of working families while handing out new tax cuts for billionaires.  USDA has used a contingency fund to make sure no one went hungry, and food assistance has never been stopped during a shutdown.  But now, the Trump administration is refusing to release funding for food assistance programs like SNAP. USDA under Trump is deliberately refusing to deploy the $5 billion SNAP contingency fund — a decision meant to pressure Democrats into passing the Republican budget that favors the billionaires at the expense of everyone else.  This isn’t just political brinkmanship. It’s cruelty--especially for Rural America, who use SNAP at a higher rate than Americans in larger cities.

SB 2420 expands state surveillance powers and undermines the confidentiality of personal communications and online activity. Texans should not have to sacrifice privacy to participate in public life or express their views freely. This bill sets a dangerous precedent for government overreach and violates the spirit of constitutional protections guaranteed under both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions.

1. Many residents have schedules that are prohibitive to attending City Council meetings. The recordings we have of the regularly scheduled meetings allow us to review the dialogue that occurs and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues at play. How is this any less relevant for committee meetings, which so many people describe as "where the action occurs." 2. This is long overdue. See https://share.google/yQCi0GwKls6x8K0MR and https://share.google/HyZIUaHVB2ZHpjbr9 we gather that Mayor Levin is worried about how recording would impact cost and the continued ability to foster open dialogue, A) Livestreaming is free and B) Recording actually shouldn't be prohibitive to elected officials conversing in a candid manner. In addressing the mayor's concern that snippets of recorded meetings could be posted to social media and potentially subject to poor contextualization, isn't the same risk applicable to ANY meeting that is recorded and made accessible to the public? 3. Other neighboring communities (Hinsdale, Lombard, Naperville, and Addison to name a few, indicate on their websites that they record committee meetings. Is it not worth considering why they are willing to take this extra step to strengthen community transparency)? Please therefore consider placing Michael Bram's request to record committee meetings on the agenda for a vote. He has asked twice, and neither request has ever made it to the agenda.  As residents, we understand that maintaining and improving our town requires an ongoing investment. Yet, the more that is asked of residents, the more that residents have a right to evaluate the conversations and information that ultimately drive decisions that affect all of us.  Please take steps to preserve the transparency that is so critical to our moving together as what Elmhurst truly is--a community. Thanks for your time and consideration.

LA loves the Dodgers!  With the World Series headed to the City of Angels, we need to make sure the Dodgers' owner, Mark Walter, loves ALL Angelenos back. 40% of Dodger fans are Latino - the fans pay for seats, for concessions, for gear to show our love for our city and our team.  We want what Mr. Walter wants - to go all the way! What we don’t want is for Mr. Walter to have anything to do with masked agents kidnapping our families and neighbors off the street. Dodgers and ICE don’t mix.  In addition to owning the LA Dodgers, Mark Walter is CEO of Guggenheim Partners, a huge corporation that invests more than $345 billion for other big corporations, wealthy individuals, and pension funds. Guggenheim Partners invests in GEO Group, one of the largest operators of ICE jails. A GEO Group subsidiary, GTI, is ICE’s largest transportation provider, projecting that deportation flights will generate $40 to $50 million in new revenue.  There’s really no need to. On the MLB website Mark Walter is called “an investor, conservationist, and social-justice advocate.” Mark, stand with your loyal fans and drop GEO Group! Go Blue! ¡L.A. ama a Los Doyers! Ya que la Serie Mundial vendrá a Los Ángeles, es importante que el dueño de los Dodgers, Mark Walter, apoyen a TODOS los Angelenos también y a nuestras comunidades. El 40% de los fans son latinos - pagamos por los boletos, la comida y bebidas, y compramos y  portamos con orgullo la mercancía. Al igual que el Sr. Walter, queremos lo mismo– ¡ganar todo! Lo que NO queremos es que el Sr. Walter este asociado con los agentes de ICE que secuestran a nuestros vecinos y familiares. ¡Los Dodgers y el ICE no se mezclan! Además de ser propietario de los L.A. Dodgers, Mark Walter es el director ejecutivo de Guggenheim Partners, una corporación enorme que invierte más de 345 mil millones de dólares en otras corporaciones grandes, individuos ricos y fondos de pensiones. Guggenheim Partners invierte en GEO Group, uno de los operadores más grandes de las cárceles de ICE. Un subsidiario de GEO Group, GTI, opera los vuelos de deportación de ICE. No es necesario. En el sitio de web de la MLB, Mark Walter se describe como "inversionista, conservacionista y defensor de la justicia social". ¡Mark, apoya a tus seguidores fieles y deja de lado a GEO Group! ¡Vamos Dodgers!  ¡Exigimos que Mark corte con el GEO Group!  ¡ALTO al apoyo a ICE!

California just passed a law mandating that ads on streaming services match the noise level of the movie or television show being watched. So the framework already exists—we just need more states to take action and implement it.  Their crackdown on excessively loud ads is set to go into effect July 1, 2026, and would cut down on noise pollution that disturbs homes and wakes sleeping children.  And it’s not the first time there’s been reform around loud ads. In 2010, Congress passed federal legislation called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act to bring quiet commercials to cable television and radio shows.  Now, streamers must adhere to the CALM Act in California—and leaders nationwide should ensure they’re required to do the same in every state.  Add your name to the petition and demand that streaming platforms dial down the volume on their ads.

The current building 1930 Beach Street is restricted to be inspected for Inhumane practices by Illinois Congressional Leaders. Chicago Sun-Times reports, “U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, both Illinois Democrats, on Friday requested a tour of the Broadview ICE facility that has drawn heated protest for weeks, but they were denied entry,(2025, Armentrout). If ICE occupies the current 5000 square foot building and has DENIED entry for routine inspections, how much more would a 200,000 square ft building occupied by ICE would be even worst to inspect. Armentrout, M., (2025, October, 10).  Illinois Democrats call for investigation of Chicago ICE raids. https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/10/ice-investigation-chicago-illinois-congressional-democrats-robin-kelly

Upwards of 100,000 people attend the Super Bowl, and the event is supposed to be a celebration of football and its fans, powered by thousands of workers who make it possible. The Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco should not be marked by Trump’s mass chaos, trauma, and detention.  Bad Bunny and his team already made the difficult decision to not tour his latest album Debí Tirar Más Fotos in the United States out of fear of ICE raids, and how they might use him and his concerts to kidnap and target his fans. But of course, the Trump administration is cruel, and doubled down by saying they’d have ICE at the Super Bowl. People on the ground in communities most impacted by Trump’s authoritarian militarized takeover are uniting to fight back, and doing everything they can to protect their neighbors and loved ones. Local elected officials like Alderwoman Jessie Fuentes are putting their bodies on the line to defend their constituents. Bad Bunny is an artist who has been very outspoken about injustice and has used his music and platform to advocate for our communities. He has also been vocally against Trump and his immigration policies, and in 2024, he spoke out against a speaker at Trump’s rally when he disgustingly called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” He has been a fierce advocate for Puerto Rican rights and independence because Puerto Rico is a colony of the U.S. and the people of Puerto Rico have constantly been failed, especially by Trump, his administration, and its harmful policies. Eight years ago, Puerto Ricans were devastated by Hurricanes Maria and Irma, and families were displaced and abandoned, the entire island was left without power for 11 months (the longest blackout in US history), many were left without water, and thousands died from neglect from those in power. The people of Puerto Rico deserve better. Together, we can continue fighting for all of our communities and keeping each other safe, one step at a time. The NFL must take this step too, to stop ICE from targeting people at their Super Bowl. Will you add your name to the petition?

Please sign and share this petition to show Vietnam—and the world—that the persecution of human rights defenders must end. Together, we can amplify Phương’s voice from behind prison walls.

This isn't just about one mural in one town. This is about the First Amendment and everyone's constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

The President  is trying to take away America's Free speech rights that are embedded in the Constitution.  Trump has weaponized the FCC and it's Director to threaten and coerce broadcasters into submitting to his demands only because he doesn't like what HE hears, usually about himself. Comedians should never be the target of Presidents. The next step in the 2025 agenda could quite possibly be muzzling YOUR speech.

 It would add the needed cultural, educational, and historical elements to the campus, and would serve as a major destination point for all. With the old stadium coming down, and a new planned stadium being built on the same site, now is the time to preserve, for future generations, the rich history and togetherness that this beloved structure produced.

Faculty at PGCC are the heart of the community they educate. We need to support them in the same way they support their students each and every day.