Kelly Hallberg

•The U.S. Senate may hold a floor vote TODAY which would overturn a 20-year moratorium on sulfide-ore copper mining on 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest land in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness in northern Minnesota. The Boundary Waters is the most visited Wilderness in the United States.  🛶 Enjoying the Minnesotan/Canadian wilderness by canoe or other lesser watercraft is one of our nations greatest available pastimes, and one I have personally enjoyed my entire life. We must protect these public lands from the rapacious capitalists threatening to turn them into a poisoned wasteland. •This vote in Congress would open the door to copper mining at the headwaters of this entire ecosystem. This kind of mining produces toxic pollution, including acid runoff and heavy metals, that can contaminate nearby waters. •The Boundary Waters supports a major outdoor economy that sustains thousands of jobs and generates over a billion dollars a year - built on clean water and intact public lands. But this vote would clear the way for toxic mining that puts all of that at risk. It would also set a dangerous precedent, making it easier to roll back protections for public lands across the country, including wilderness areas, national monuments, and national parks.  •This is a defining moment. If you care about clean water, public lands, and protecting places we can’t replace, now is the time to speak up. •Protect the Boundary Waters, and vote NO on House Joint Resolution 140. Let’s save this treasured place for all of us—forever. on.nrdc.org/4csRkwi

Remember the largely blind, elderly genocide survivor from Myanmar, Mr. Shah Alam, whom immigration officers picked up and then dumped on the street near a CLOSED cafe in Buffalo in the middle of the winter? Mr. Shah Alam died trying to get home, and the medical examiner has found that he perished of dehydration and hypothermia. Immigration agents never bothered to call his family. I'm sure they didn't intend for him to die, but the incident speaks to the casual disregard they show for the lives and dignity of those they deal with. Having covered the Rohingya genocide, I think of this man who survived so much, then is admitted to America -- and perishes because immigration agents can't be bothered to make a call. nytimes.com/2026/04/01/nyr…

Check out our new working paper!

@jenniferdoleac Congrats! It's already in my "to read" pile!

It’s Pub Day! My first book, The Science of Second Chances, hits shelves today. I can’t wait to hear what y’all think. I hope you find that it fills you with hope and optimism about what is possible in the public safety space. ✨

I am asking my fellow Republican and Democratic Governors across the nation to have a unified response. We must all stand against the lawlessness being inflicted in our states.

Wow!

Hiring a Research Director @UChiIELab! Lead applied policy research on housing, jobs & financial security. Work directly with cities & communities to co-generate evidence that drives real change. PhD required. urbanlabs.uchicago.edu/careers?vacanc…

Over the next few months, we’ll be spotlighting selected AEFP 2026 program content by theme and session groupings. We’re kicking things off with a flyer featuring Chicago- and Illinois-focused sessions—check it out here: bit.ly/AEFP2026-Chica…

No one knows what will happen from here, and we hope for the best, but it’s shocking to have violently overthrown a government and invaded a country explicitly vowing to not only take no displaced persons or refugees but send those already here back no matter how bad it gets.

Economists at @LEOatND, @UChiIELab, and @YaleTobinCenter are the first to show the direct effects of eviction on children’s housing stability and educational attainment. Full policy brief here: tobin.yale.edu/research/disru…

They are plucking people out of the line for naturalization ceremonies based on their countries of origin. This is sickening, cruel, disgusting stuff.

The NYTimes report on the US government sending people to be tortured, raped, and driven to the brink of suicide is an administration-defining document. Our government sent a 26 year old Milwaukee Uber Eats driver to a torture prison.

“Mommy! Mommy! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” That was a 2-year-old girl's reaction when she was hit with tear gas deployed by nearby immigration agents as she played in a Chicago park. Her mother details their story to @NBCNews nbcnews.com/news/us-news/c…

This is evil. I don't know how supposed Christians who voted for Trump can sleep at night.

What’s happening with ICE in Chicago is an OUTRAGE. I want to share a full explainer of the reality on the ground—even if it’s tough to see. Pay attention. Stand with innocent families. Watch.

In Evanston yesterday, immigration agents went around with guns drawn, interrupting Halloween gatherings (my kid’s school moved theirs indoors), and pulling people from cars. Local police had to step in to separate agents from residents. This cannot become the new normal.

@DanWuori My almost 20 month old does the same thing with those books and can somehow differentiate between the MAMA and DADA books!

DADA! I’ve run across many great reaction videos, filmed as toddlers realize a parent has returned from work. But this one, shared to IG by thecooleats, is remarkable - not just for the excitement this little one shows as her father arrives home, but also for the window it provides on her emergent literacy. Watch what our hero does as she prepares for his arrival: While repeating Dada’s name she runs to a pile of board books, rummages through and uncovers just what she’s looking for: A book titled DADA. As he arrives she greets him by pointing at the word and saying his name. How cool is that? One can only imagine how many times the pair have read this book together. Or how many time they’ll be reading it in the minutes following this video. Never forget that your child’s long term success as a reader finds its roots in the years before kindergarten entry. So read, write, talk and sing!

Starting to see consequences from the mass cancellations and firings at ED. A month ago, I reported about a missed June 1 deadline for a statistical report. Now NAEP science scores are delayed. hechingerreport.org/proof-points-d…

Looking forward to listening to my colleague, @NourARazzak discuss our paper on @jenniferdoleac's podcast!

Not every day your #grandpa and @ShoheiOfficial are mentioned together!! 😎