Robert Vargas
@robvargas.bsky.social
Scholar (justiceproject.uchicago.edu)
Artist (www.robvargas.com)
Artist (www.robvargas.com)
Pinned
Robert Vargas
@robvargas.bsky.social
· Feb 3
Academic Copaganda | Law & Society Review | Cambridge Core
Academic Copaganda
www.cambridge.org
***NEW PAPER***
It’s publication day for our paper “Academic Copaganda.” We encourage you to read the whole paper before making judgements. Propaganda is a term that shouldn’t be used lightly, but there couldn’t be a more important time to study it than now.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It’s publication day for our paper “Academic Copaganda.” We encourage you to read the whole paper before making judgements. Propaganda is a term that shouldn’t be used lightly, but there couldn’t be a more important time to study it than now.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Turns out much of the great research on ShotSpotter was the result of a CPD FOIA mistake. I wrote about how this signals the need for reforming how Chicago does business with tech, especially with so much AI tools for government on the way.
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
Rewiring city's technology ties following ShotSpotter saga
At a moment when an authoritarian president is seeking every tool possible to target his perceived political enemies, there is no better time for Chicago to rethink how it does business with technolog...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Turns out much of the great research on ShotSpotter was the result of a CPD FOIA mistake. I wrote about how this signals the need for reforming how Chicago does business with tech, especially with so much AI tools for government on the way.
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/...
Reposted by Robert Vargas
"There are few rights that residents have in the face of bondholder demands. Most importantly, perhaps, the officials put in charge of governing the city by the supposedly sovereign people have little recourse or room to maneuver in the face of their power."
"If the city were to get into fiscal trouble and face a decision between paying teachers and paying bondholders, it would have to pay bondholders." -- @schooldaves.bsky.social on the uphill fight municipal socialism faces against the investment environment
Paying for It | David I. Backer
Should Zohran Mamdani become the next mayor of New York City, he will be restricted by the municipal bond market.
thebaffler.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:32 PM
"There are few rights that residents have in the face of bondholder demands. Most importantly, perhaps, the officials put in charge of governing the city by the supposedly sovereign people have little recourse or room to maneuver in the face of their power."
Coverage like this is inaccurate and simply not productive. It's tempting to quote the the crime lab's own written work, which admits that these programs effectiveness dwindled as scale increased, but don't take the bait. The real question is...
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
Johnson pledges to use head tax for youth programs, then wants to cut funding for proven mentoring efforts
Without city funding, group counseling programs now serving 1,400 Chicago Public School students in 33 schools will end on Dec. 31. Those programs have helped students endure the violence- and family-...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Coverage like this is inaccurate and simply not productive. It's tempting to quote the the crime lab's own written work, which admits that these programs effectiveness dwindled as scale increased, but don't take the bait. The real question is...
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...
Reposted by Robert Vargas
Thinking about when Willie Wilson said police “should be able to chase them [anyone who runs from police] down, and hunt them down like a rabbit,” and Paul Vallas wanted to “take the handcuffs off police.”
Everyone’s getting to see what that looks like in practice now & they don’t seem to like it.
Everyone’s getting to see what that looks like in practice now & they don’t seem to like it.
November 9, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Thinking about when Willie Wilson said police “should be able to chase them [anyone who runs from police] down, and hunt them down like a rabbit,” and Paul Vallas wanted to “take the handcuffs off police.”
Everyone’s getting to see what that looks like in practice now & they don’t seem to like it.
Everyone’s getting to see what that looks like in practice now & they don’t seem to like it.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
the lesson of zohran mamdani walloping one of the most racist campaigns in modern us history on the largest turnout since 1969 is that democrats need to move to the right
November 5, 2025 at 2:16 AM
the lesson of zohran mamdani walloping one of the most racist campaigns in modern us history on the largest turnout since 1969 is that democrats need to move to the right
Just published an annual review of a field we're calling "The Political Economy of Policing." It highlights great work on the links between police and society's major political/economic institutions. Thanks to my great coauthors Lauren Hagani and Gabe Rojas.
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
The Political Economy of Policing
This article synthesizes emerging research on the political economy of policing, conceptualized through a Gramscian framework that examines policing as an interinstitutional structure shaped by econom...
www.annualreviews.org
October 14, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Just published an annual review of a field we're calling "The Political Economy of Policing." It highlights great work on the links between police and society's major political/economic institutions. Thanks to my great coauthors Lauren Hagani and Gabe Rojas.
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Robert Vargas
Illinois v. Trump lawsuit seems to confirm the idea that the recent surge of county and state police departments outside of the Broadview ICE facility was decided to preempt the Federalization Order.
I'm not justifying that decision per se, but it appears to be the least poor of two poor options.
I'm not justifying that decision per se, but it appears to be the least poor of two poor options.
October 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Illinois v. Trump lawsuit seems to confirm the idea that the recent surge of county and state police departments outside of the Broadview ICE facility was decided to preempt the Federalization Order.
I'm not justifying that decision per se, but it appears to be the least poor of two poor options.
I'm not justifying that decision per se, but it appears to be the least poor of two poor options.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
The Jimmy Kimmel news got me thinking of Stuart Hall saying, “Where are the emergent forces? Where are the cracks and the contradictions? What are the elements in public consciousness one could mobilize for a different political program?"
September 23, 2025 at 12:40 AM
The Jimmy Kimmel news got me thinking of Stuart Hall saying, “Where are the emergent forces? Where are the cracks and the contradictions? What are the elements in public consciousness one could mobilize for a different political program?"
Reposted by Robert Vargas
The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents.
In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.
In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.
September 6, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents.
In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.
In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.
Cities so desperately need more help negotiating the terms of their contracts with private entities. What a world we live in where presidents can shutter federal agencies with a flick of a switch but cities can't get out of their contract with surveillance tech firms.
Flock is apparently Not Happy™️ about Evanston trying to terminate its ALPR contract early, and sent a letter from its chief legal ofc. that a) "denies categorically" they broke any laws or contract terms and b) argues the city failed to let them "fulfill our obligations" to cure an alleged breach.
Flock challenges city's termination of contract for license plate readers - Evanston RoundTable
Flock Safety, the private surveillance vendor hired to provide automated license plate readers to police in Evanston and thousands of other communities,
evanstonroundtable.com
August 28, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Cities so desperately need more help negotiating the terms of their contracts with private entities. What a world we live in where presidents can shutter federal agencies with a flick of a switch but cities can't get out of their contract with surveillance tech firms.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
It's a conflict of interest not to have a conflict of interest with the police lmao
A civil rights attorney with a history of suing the city over alleged police misconduct has been been chosen to serve as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s director of strategy, a move that one pro-police council member called a “serious conflict of interest.”
Civil rights attorney with history of suing CPD chosen to serve as Mayor Johnson's strategy chief
Sheila Bedi drew the attention of a Congressional committee for representing a pro-Palestinian group that shut down the road leading to O’Hare Airport to protest Israel’s role in the war in Gaza.
buff.ly
August 26, 2025 at 9:42 PM
It's a conflict of interest not to have a conflict of interest with the police lmao
Pleased to see attention brought to Chicago’s public-private funding of violence prevention. But feels like the private sector wants it both ways. Celebrate crime declines from programs they fund but opposing taxes for scaling these programs permanently.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Crackdown Will Make Crime Worse
www.nytimes.com
August 22, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Pleased to see attention brought to Chicago’s public-private funding of violence prevention. But feels like the private sector wants it both ways. Celebrate crime declines from programs they fund but opposing taxes for scaling these programs permanently.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/o...
Reposted by Robert Vargas
Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s theorizing about lynching in relation to the carceral system helped me understand how—like today—people and institutions may fight over who has dominion over committing racial violence, detentions, and executions, but they aren’t antagonistic to each other’s political project.
August 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s theorizing about lynching in relation to the carceral system helped me understand how—like today—people and institutions may fight over who has dominion over committing racial violence, detentions, and executions, but they aren’t antagonistic to each other’s political project.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
Reposted by Robert Vargas
🚨NEW: This is what all networks should do!
MSNBC fact checks Trump live during his press conference.
The REAL crime stats are put on screen as he reads out his made up figures.
MSNBC fact checks Trump live during his press conference.
The REAL crime stats are put on screen as he reads out his made up figures.
August 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
🚨NEW: This is what all networks should do!
MSNBC fact checks Trump live during his press conference.
The REAL crime stats are put on screen as he reads out his made up figures.
MSNBC fact checks Trump live during his press conference.
The REAL crime stats are put on screen as he reads out his made up figures.
Proud of David Hackett for fielding questions about our study live on WGN. For folks worried about the 54 deaths at locations where the tech was turned off, please note that more deaths occurred at those places when Shotspotter was ON last year.
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
Chicago violent crime, homicides dropped after ShotSpotter removal, study finds
A new study looks at Chicago crime post-ShotSpotter.
wgntv.com
August 8, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Proud of David Hackett for fielding questions about our study live on WGN. For folks worried about the 54 deaths at locations where the tech was turned off, please note that more deaths occurred at those places when Shotspotter was ON last year.
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
wgntv.com/news/chicago...
A powerful op-ed that should really open some eyes.
Community violence intervention, also known as CVI in public safety circles, is working.
But its frontline workers have been cramping under pressure, forced to smile and swallow pain so funders and nonprofit executives can parade progress.
thetriibe.com/2025/07/opin...
But its frontline workers have been cramping under pressure, forced to smile and swallow pain so funders and nonprofit executives can parade progress.
thetriibe.com/2025/07/opin...
OPINION: Protect the protectors; It’s time for CVI to unionize • The TRiiBE
Community violence intervention (CVI) is hitting its stride, but don’t let the momentum fool you. A strain is showing.
thetriibe.com
August 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
A powerful op-ed that should really open some eyes.
With everyone under the sun trying to claim credit for Chicago’s 2025 crime decline, we created this interactive granular map to examine some of the most popular claims. Take a look. If you have claims you’d like us to fact check, let us know!
uchicago-justice-project.github.io/chicago_crim...
uchicago-justice-project.github.io/chicago_crim...
UChicago Justice Crime Map
uchicago-justice-project.github.io
August 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
With everyone under the sun trying to claim credit for Chicago’s 2025 crime decline, we created this interactive granular map to examine some of the most popular claims. Take a look. If you have claims you’d like us to fact check, let us know!
uchicago-justice-project.github.io/chicago_crim...
uchicago-justice-project.github.io/chicago_crim...
This is a reason why I've been skeptical about the Mayor's claim that improved clearance rates have contributed to the decrease in crime.
The Trace analyzed fatal shootings in Chicago between 2010 and 2024, and learned that of the 2,700 cases police declared closed, almost a quarter were cleared because prosecutors declined to file charges — not because an investigation was resolved. Read more: thetr.ac/jBOQX
July 21, 2025 at 8:04 PM
This is a reason why I've been skeptical about the Mayor's claim that improved clearance rates have contributed to the decrease in crime.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
CPD has steadfastly claimed responding officers did not know immigration activity was happening on June 4. But a phone call to OEMC from a police captain in CPD HQ shows he knew it was Homeland Security Investigations—an arm of ICE—but didn't want to broadcast that or "make it a media thing."
NEW: Investigations editor @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social obtained 911 calls and other documents that indicate CPD was aware immigration authorities were requesting help at an ICE facility on June 4. southsideweekly.com/june-4-calls...
June 4 Calls Show CPD Knew Federal Immigration Agents Were Asking for Help
An officer in the department’s “fusion” center told 911 dispatchers Homeland Security Investigations—a division of ICE—were calling for help. He also wanted to avoid media attention.
southsideweekly.com
July 16, 2025 at 11:51 AM
CPD has steadfastly claimed responding officers did not know immigration activity was happening on June 4. But a phone call to OEMC from a police captain in CPD HQ shows he knew it was Homeland Security Investigations—an arm of ICE—but didn't want to broadcast that or "make it a media thing."
Chicago: The city of moving goal posts. I hope Mamdani's people in NYC are taking notes.
July 16, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Chicago: The city of moving goal posts. I hope Mamdani's people in NYC are taking notes.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
State + local budgets will be torpedoed by the deathmonger bill.
It will be beyond tempting for your state/local politicians to try to fill in the gaps by seeking the only new federal assistance $ available to help offset huge expenses: billions in ICE $ for policing and jails.
Strategize NOW.
It will be beyond tempting for your state/local politicians to try to fill in the gaps by seeking the only new federal assistance $ available to help offset huge expenses: billions in ICE $ for policing and jails.
Strategize NOW.
July 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
State + local budgets will be torpedoed by the deathmonger bill.
It will be beyond tempting for your state/local politicians to try to fill in the gaps by seeking the only new federal assistance $ available to help offset huge expenses: billions in ICE $ for policing and jails.
Strategize NOW.
It will be beyond tempting for your state/local politicians to try to fill in the gaps by seeking the only new federal assistance $ available to help offset huge expenses: billions in ICE $ for policing and jails.
Strategize NOW.
Reposted by Robert Vargas
Follow @thecity.nyc. We relentlessly investigate people in power & when we have the goods on them, whatever their political position, we hit publish.
What we don't do: Publish crap.
What we don't do: Publish crap.
July 4, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Follow @thecity.nyc. We relentlessly investigate people in power & when we have the goods on them, whatever their political position, we hit publish.
What we don't do: Publish crap.
What we don't do: Publish crap.