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It Doesn't Have to Be This Way Vera @ Chicago Ideas - Part II

The Vera Institute of Justice teamed up with Chicago Ideas to reenvision the American prison system, and imagine a society in which prisons serve as rehabilitation facilities for communities and citizens, rather than as crippling institutions. The conversation combined performance, first-person testimony, and compelling dialogue that all looked into not only how the American prison system can cause “civil death,” but also what everyday citizens can do to help reshape the way in which incarceration affects the country.

Part Two: It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way—A moderated, multi-disciplinary conversation that looked into the power and potential of reimagining our prison system to emphasize human dignity over punishment.

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The Political Consensus Behind Harsh Immigration Policies Is Starting to Crack

As backlash to President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda grows, some lawmakers are reconsidering votes that expanded immigrant detention and ICE power.

Slowly but surely, the political consensus on punitive crime and immigration measures is changing—for the better. Last week, Minnesota Representative Angie Craig provided the latest example of this shift when she apologized for her 2025 vote for the Laken Riley Act, a bill that dramatically expanded the number of undocumented people subjected to ma ...

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March 13, 2026
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