Rehumanize Chicago

Welcome to Rehumanize Chicago

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Hello and welcome! My name is Eleanor, and I do internal communications for Rehumanize Chicago. We are freshly-launched consistent life ethic advocacy organization in in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Come to our kickoff social / watch party

Rehumanize International's Aimee Murphy has recently published a book about our movement and the consistent life ethic and is hosting a book launch over Zoom. She will be introducing her book and speaking with celebrated actor and consistent life ethic activist Martin Sheen.

To celebrate with the broader Rehumanize community and to kick off our own Chicago chapter, we're hosting a watch party at Cody's Public House. You are cordially invited to watch with us and meet the rest of the Rehumanize Chicago community.

Please RSVP to our event on EventBrite.

The Rehumanize Book Tour is coming to Chicago on Thursday, August 25

Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 25. Aimee Murphy will be in our city to talk about her new book Rehumanize: A Vision to Secure Human Rights for All.

About the book

Who deserves human rights? The answer to this question is the crux of all moral and political action in society, and defines our character as individuals and as nations. Aimee Murphy seeks to answer this vital question in this accessible and succinct handbook on the Consistent Life Ethic, a moral philosophy whose central principle is that each and every human being has inherent dignity from conception to natural death, and therefore deserves to live free from violence. Rehumanize: A Vision to Secure Human Rights for All includes a digestible yet systematic analysis of the history, ethics, and public policy surrounding modern issues of dehumanization, and casts a rehumanizing vision of a world beyond violence. Beyond the confines of political parties or religious exclusion, the founder of Rehumanize International communicates an aspiration to an inclusive ideal of a consistent movement of every human standing for every human. Activists, scholars, and leaders young and old will find this resource an indispensable cornerstone for their outreach and advocacy for decades to come.

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Consider applying to be a speaker or buy your ticket for the virtual event.

I intend to organize an in-person watching, so mark your calendars.

Learn more about the conference.

Send us your events!

Have an event you think we should co-sponsor or even just attend? We're open to collaborating with organizations working against legalized or normalized violence.

Chicago News

City Agencies Can’t Help Other States Investigate People Who Come To Chicago For Abortions, Lightfoot Says, via Block Club
Oak Lawn police release dashboard camera video of arrest of 17-year-old left hospitalized, via the Chicago Tribune (warning: not easy to watch)
Teen beaten by police in Oak Lawn released from hospital, taken to juvenile detention, via the Chicago Sun-Times

See any local news you think Chicago region consistent lifers should read? Send it in!

Follow us on social media!

If you haven't already, please consider liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or. Even if you don't use social media often, having just a few more people following us helps legitimize us to the algorithms, and we could really use the boost.

Join our Keybase, Volunteer for ICDI, and Connect with Rehumanize International

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Join us on Keybase!

Looking for a way to get more involved with Rehumanize Chicago? Consider joining our chat on Keybase. We can use Keybase to propose events, hash out plans, and share volunteer opportunities.

So many volunteer opportunities at ICDI

Our friends at the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants could use a hand. I (Eleanor) will be at the gala and I hope to see you there!

ICDI Gala opportunities, both at-home and in-person

virtual opportunity: Phone banking for the upcoming ICDI Gala.
September 25: In-Person opportunity
- The gala will be held on Sunday, September 25 from 11am to 2pm at Drury Lane (100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181).
- Volunteers will sell raffle tickets during our GALA.
- Volunteers will do a virtual training, and use their own laptop during the event.
- Free attendance to GALA will be given to volunteers selling raffle tickets.

If you're interested in either opportunity, email hello@icdichicago.org and tell them we sent you. Training will be provided.

If you're planning on going to the gala (as an attendee or volunteer) let us know so we can meet up and hang out--maybe even carpool.

Regular volunteering commitment opportunity downtown with CITA

The Chicago Immigrant Transit Assistance (CITA) program is a ministry of ICDI, and they do incredibly important work for asylum seekers who arrive with little or nothing. Volunteers meet asylum seekers who step off at the Greyhound station and give them basic necessities and help them figure out where to go.

Learn more about CITA and consider becoming a CITA volunteer. They currently have a need in their schedule:

Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 5:45am - 7:45am.

Reach out to Johannes Favi (jfavi@icdichicago.org) if you think you can help.

Know of a volunteer opportunity Chicago consistent lifers should know about? Let us know by replying or reach out via social media!

Rehumanize Retreat online on August 19 from 5pm-9pm CDT

Every year, Rehumanize International holds a retreat where we get together for fellowship and planning for the next year. This year, due to continued COVID concerns we are holding our retreat online starting on Friday, August 19th, and they have decided open up their Friday night activities to the wider Rehumanize community.

The schedule for Friday includes some time for introductions, team-building, and icebreaker activities as well an hour-long Q&A hosted by Herb Geraghty and Aimee Murphy, the founder of Rehumanize International. During this time they will be able to answer any questions you might have related to the work. These can range from specific apologetics or talking points on particular CLE issues, the scope of our work, the organization's history, our current projects and programs, and anything else you can think of in the realm of Rehumanize, life, peace, + justice.

If you would like to attend, please reach out to Rehumanize Chicago via social media, email, or Keybase and (if we know you!) we will share the link with you.

The Rehumanize Book Tour is coming to Chicago on Thursday, August 25

Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 25. Aimee Murphy will be in our city to talk about her new book Rehumanize: A Vision to Secure Human Rights for All. (Location and time pending.)

About the book

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Consider applying to be a speaker or buy your ticket for the virtual event.

Learn more about the conference.

Send us your events!

Have an event you think we should co-sponsor or even just attend? We're open to collaborating with organizations working against legalized or normalized violence.

Chicago Consistent Life News

See a news story you think consistent lifers should read? Send it in!

Sidewalk advocacy, book tour, and more

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Rehumanize Retreat online on August 19 from 5pm-9pm CDT

If you would like to attend, please reach out to Rehumanize Chicago via social media, email, or Keybase and (if we know you!) we will share the link with you.

Sidewalk Advocacy Event on Saturday, August 20

We will be gathering for sidewalk advocacy downtown, starting at 9am on Saturday, August 20 at 659 W. Washington. We will be advocating for prenatal rights by chalking and connecting pregnant people with life-affirming services. Please join us! We'd love to meet you.

The Rehumanize Book Tour is coming to Chicago on Thursday, August 25

St. Alphonsus Church has graciously agreed to host Aimee Murphy's book tour's Chicago stop on Thursday, August 25 at 7:30pm.

Hear Aimee talk about her guide to the consistent life ethic movement: Rehumanize: A Vision to Secure Human Rights for All.

RSVP to the book tour stop on Facebook

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Consider applying to be a speaker or buy your ticket for the virtual event.

Learn more about the conference.

ICDI Gala opportunities, both at-home and in-person

virtual opportunity: Phone banking for the upcoming ICDI Gala.
September 25: In-Person opportunity
- The gala will be held on Sunday, September 25 from 11am to 2pm at Drury Lane (100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181).
- Volunteers will sell raffle tickets during our GALA.
- Volunteers will do a virtual training, and use their own laptop during the event.
- Free attendance to GALA will be given to volunteers selling raffle tickets.

If you're interested in either opportunity, email hello@icdichicago.org and tell them we sent you. Training will be provided.

If you're planning on going to the gala (as an attendee or volunteer) let us know so we can meet up and hang out--maybe even carpool.

Send us your events!

Have an event you think we should co-sponsor or even just attend? We're open to collaborating with organizations working against legalized or normalized violence.

Chicago Consistent Life News

U. S. Senator from IL Tammy Duckworth's Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022, which provides PTSD benefits to public safety officers, passes into law, via Twitter
CPD sergeant charged with kneeling on 14-year-old’s back while off duty at Park Ridge Starbucks, via the Chciago Sun-Times
City Releases Long-Awaited COPA Report on Watts Scandal, via NBC Chicago
ICIRR, Just Futures Law, Mijente, and OCAD sue LexisNexis over personal data, via the Associated Press

Reminder: Join us on Keybase!

Looking for a way to get more involved with Rehumanize Chicago? Consider joining our chat on Keybase. We can use Keybase to propose events, hash out plans, and share volunteer opportunities.

Virtual conference, volunteer opportunities, and torture survivor fund

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Slow news week this week, but stay tuned for more events this fall.

ICDI Gala opportunities, both at-home and in-person

virtual opportunity: Phone banking for the upcoming ICDI Gala.
September 25: In-Person opportunity
- The gala will be held on Sunday, September 25 from 11am to 2pm at Drury Lane (100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181).
- Volunteers will sell raffle tickets during our GALA.
- Volunteers will do a virtual training, and use their own laptop during the event.
- Free attendance to GALA will be given to volunteers selling raffle tickets.

If you're interested in either opportunity, email hello@icdichicago.org and tell them we sent you. Training will be provided.

If you're planning on going to the gala (as an attendee or volunteer) let us know so we can meet up and hang out--maybe even carpool.

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Consider applying to be a speaker or buy your ticket for the virtual event.

Learn more about the conference.

Send us your events!

Have an event you think we should co-sponsor or even just attend? We're open to collaborating with organizations working against legalized or normalized violence.

Chicago Consistent Life News

Chicago Torture Justice Center relaunches their Survivor Repair Fund

Conference and lots of Chicago Area News

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Consider applying to be a speaker or buy your ticket for the virtual event.

Learn more about the conference.

Send us your events!

We could use some events for the month of September! Have an event you think we should co-sponsor or even just attend? We're open to collaborating with organizations working against legalized or normalized violence.

Consistent Life News

Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s focus on abortion rights, prospects dimming for special legislative session before November election, via Chicago Tribune
Abortion providers get funding boost from Chicago officials, via Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Police Officer Dies By Suicide, At Least The 4th Since July, Officials Say, via Block Club
More Migrants Expected To Be Bused To Chicago — And City Will Need Aid To Help Them, Lightfoot Says, via Block Club
Here’s How You Can Help Migrants Arriving In Chicago From Texas, via Block Club

See something you should see? Let us know!

Looking for a treasurer and volunteering at the Sharehouse

Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We are looking for a treasurer!

Are you handy with a spreadsheet? We're looking for a treasurer for our group to help track expenses.

The treasurer's responsibilities are:

Keeps receipts and records of money spent by the group.
Requests reimbursements from the main office.
Decides when to set up, with the other group members, a joint bank account or PayPal account for group funds.
Ensures that donor funds are spent responsibly and in accordance with donor intentions.

We are a very new group with very minimal expenses, so we don't anticipate the treasurer needing to commit a lot of hours. This is an easy way to have a big impact on the consistent life movement!

If you're interested in becoming our treasurer, please join our Keybase and introduce yourself.

Donate and sign up to volunteer for new Chicagoans

The State of Texas is trying to pressure changes to federal immigration policies by sending busloads of immigrants unannounced to cities with welcoming immigration policies.

While the intention of the policy is to sow chaos at the expense of migrant families, the city of Chicago and organizations across the region are rising to meet those needs.

We urge all of our supporters to welcome these new Americans by:

donating needed resources to families who may have arrived with little
signing up to volunteer with the city
donating directly to the organizations that work with immigrants in the Chicago region, like OCAD, ICDI, and ICIRR.

Volunteer with us at the Sharehouse on Saturday, September 24

Rehumanize Chicago will be sorting donations at the Sharehouse (3800 N. Milwaukee Ave) on Saturday, September 24 from 10am to 12pm.

Please register individually on EventBrite.

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Consider applying to be a speaker or buy your ticket for the virtual event.

Learn more about the conference.

Send us your events!

Consistent Life News

Fourth Group Of Migrants Arrive In Chicago As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Stunt Continues, via Block Club
City Council committee endorses ordinance to against prenatal rights, via Chicago Sun-Times
Civilian agency takes parting shot at Chicago’s top cop in final report on fatal police shooting of Anthony Alvarez, via Chicago Sun-Times
In sign of a new frontier, online clinic offering abortion pills to patients in Illinois and elsewhere who aren’t pregnant to save for future use, via Chicago Tribune

See a story we should see? Shoot us a message on social media or on Keybase.

Come to our meetup after the conference

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

We are looking for a treasurer!

Are you handy with a spreadsheet? We're looking for a treasurer for our group to help track expenses.

The treasurer's responsibilities are:

Keeps receipts and records of money spent by the group.
Requests reimbursements from the main office.
Decides when to set up, with the other group members, a joint bank account or PayPal account for group funds.
Ensures that donor funds are spent responsibly and in accordance with donor intentions.

We are a very new group with very minimal expenses, so we don't anticipate the treasurer needing to commit a lot of hours. This is an easy way to have a big impact on the consistent life movement!

If you're interested in becoming our treasurer, please join our Keybase and introduce yourself.

Rehumanize International Conference will be virtual on October 15

Rehumanize International is meeting virtual again this year via Hopin on October 15. Get your tickets now to hang out with international Rehumanize community.

Learn more about the conference.

Rehumanize Chicago Post-Conference meetup will be on October 16

Join us on Sunday, October 16 at 6:30pm for a post-conference hang-out at The Red Lion on Lincoln Ave in Lincoln Park.

We'll be signing our Rehumanize chapter membership charter. Beware--if you're not there to defend yourself you risk getting volunteered to be our treasurer. (I jest.)

Join us for sidewalk counseling every Saturday!

We have members who sidewalk counsel downtown almost every Saturday morning. To coordinate, join our Keybase and make some consistent life friends.

Send us your events!

We could use some events for the month of October! Have an event you think we should co-sponsor or even just attend? We're open to collaborating with organizations working against legalized or normalized violence.

See a story we should see? Shoot us a message on social media or on Keybase.

The Chicago Civic Update, Post-Election Round-Up, and Other News.

Sun, 13 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT

The Chicago Civic Update

Our friends at And Campaign Chicago have launched their own newsletter called The Chicago Civic Update on Substack. The And Campaign is a Christian consistent life movement with chapters across the country.

Rehumanize is a secular organization, but we're excited to promote consistent life work from any religious group in the region and encourage our followers who are Christians to check them out!

Consistent Life News

We collect stories of sadly normalized violence around the metropolitan area. See something we should see? Tag us or send it in.

Chicago Police Board votes to fire officer who fatally shot apparently unarmed man in 2018, via Chicago Sun-Times.
Anjanette Young Push To Change Search Warrant Policy Fails To Get Aldermanic Support, via Block Club.
Immigration advocates celebrate election firsts, plan next steps for reform, via Chicago Sun-Times.
Chicago Women Head To The Polls To Protect Right To Abortion: ‘We Can’t Afford To Go Back’, via Block Club.
General Iron’s Lincoln Park Facility Will Soon Be Demolished; Alderman Vows No Repeat Of Hilco Disaster, via Block Club. (Note: We usually don't cover environmental stories not because they are not important but because they're outside our core mission, but the story of the General Iron plant has become more than that--it's a story about racism and civil rights, which is why it is included here.)
Flight Attendants Urge Lawmakers To Better Protect Them From Passenger Abuse, via Block Club.
Voters Want To Reopen City’s Closed Mental Health Clinics. An Alderperson Says She’ll Use Momentum To Revive Stalled Plan, via Block Club.
Obama Center Builders Halt Construction After Noose Found On Site, via Block Club.

Meeting with Rehumanize Intl and The Chicago Civic Update

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Meeting with Rehumanize International on Thursday, December 8 at 6:30pm

Rehumanize International would like to meet with us to discuss changes to the chapter bylaws and structure. We will be meeting online through Google meet at **6:30pm Central Standard Time on Thursday, December 8.

For more information, please join our Keybase chat.

The Chicago Civic Update

Rehumanize is a secular organization, but we're excited to promote consistent life work from any religious group in the region and encourage our followers who are Christians to check them out!

Consistent Life News

We collect stories of sadly normalized violence around the metropolitan area. See something we should see? Tag us or send it in.

It Will Take A Village To Fight The Root Causes Of Violence. So West Siders Are Building One, via Block Club
Chicagoans with disabilities inflamed over Chicago Fire’s West Side deal, via the Chicago Sun-Times
Former detective takes stand in CPD whistleblower case, via the Chicago Sun-Times
Democratic state legislators approve changes to SAFE-T Act, GOP still blasts law as a ‘misguided, confusing scheme’, via the Chicago Tribune
Chicago man charged with attacking cops, using metal railing to ram doors of US Capitol in Jan. 6 riot, via the Chicago Tribune

Suicide Prevention Walk

Sat, 08 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Suicide Prevention Walk

Rehumanize Chicago will be participating in a suicide prevention walk in October. Please consider donating in support of our cause.

Join us for sidewalk counseling!

As a reminder, we have members who sidewalk counsel almost every Saturday morning at Family Planning Associates in downtown Chicago. Get in touch if you want to coordinate! We would be happy to have you.

Consistent Life News

Suicide Prevention Walk

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Big Things Coming Next Summer!

We're currently planning for next summer. To be a part of our planning, consider joining our Keybase chat.

Suicide Prevention Walk

Rehumanize Chicago will be participating in a suicide prevention walk in October. Please consider donating in support of our cause.

Join us for sidewalk counseling!

Consistent Life News

40 Days for Life and Pro-Migration Rally

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Pro-Migration Rally on Friday

We will be at the pro-migrant rally on Friday at 4pm at Daley Plaza. Join us to demand proper housing for new Chicagoans. Reach out via social media, email, or keybase to coordinate.

Protesting Abortion on Saturday

We will have members at two anti-abortion protests this weekend! We will be at the 40 Days for Life event this Saturday and, as always, we will have members sidewalk counseling outside Family Planning Associates downtown Saturday morning.

If you'd like to meet us, feel free to reach out to coordinate. We would love to have you.

Goal Met for Suicide Prevention Walk

We're happy to announce we've met our team goal for the suicide prevention walk! Please consider donating in support of our cause.

Big Things Coming Next Summer

We're currently planning for next summer. To be a part of our planning, consider joining our Keybase chat.

Join us for sidewalk counseling

Consistent Life News

Announcing the 2024 Rehumanize Chicago Mini-Conference!

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Big news! We are excited to announce we will be holding a one-day mini-conference in August 2024! A precise date has not been set, but we will keep you posted. If you want to help us plan or just stay in the loop, please consider joining our Keybase chat.

Suicide Prevention Walk Conclusion

Thank you to all of our supporters for supporting us for the AFSP Out of Darkness Walk, which will be held this coming Saturday. We are proud to have met our team goal. It is not too late, though, to consider donating in support of our cause.

Join us for sidewalk counseling

Consistent Life News

Create | Encounter 2024

Sun, 26 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Create | Encounter 2024

The submission window for Create | Encounter is open now! Learn about our annual arts celebration on the Rehumanize International website.

Join us for sidewalk counseling

Consistent Life News

Protesting for Police Accountability

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Police Accountability Action on Wednesday

We will be at CAARPR's protest on Wednesday at 9am outside city hall, protesting against arbitration and in favor of transparent and just police accountability. See you there!

Create | Encounter 2024

The submission window for Create | Encounter is open now! Learn about our annual arts celebration on the Rehumanize International website.

Join us for sidewalk counseling

Consistent Life News

Whole Life Ambassador Training with the And Campaign

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Training with the And Campaign

We will be joining the And Campaign for their Whole Life Ambassador training on Saturday, March 9. See details and get tickets on EventBrite.

Join us for sidewalk counseling

Consistent Life News

Black Lives Matter: Protesting the Death of Dexter Reed

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Protesting for Dexter Reed

We will be joining a number of organizations protesting the death of Dexter Reed, who was shot by police in what was by all appearances a pretextual stop. While the case is complicated, we oppose the dehumanizing practice of pretextual stops, and we advocate for accountability for police who continued firing on Reed after he had dropped his weapon.

Please join us tomorrow, April 18 at 6pm at CPD headquarters at 3510 S. Michigan Ave. Let us know if you want to coordinate!

Thank you for coming out for immigrants' rights!

Thank you so much to those who came out in support of work permits for immigrants. We took a photo at the event which you can view on our Instagram

Join us for sidewalk counseling

Consistent Life News

Join Us for a Police Accountability Panel on November 10

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

November 10, 2:30-4:30 -- Oppose Oath Keepers in CPD

The Oath Keepers are an insurrectionist terrorist organization which boasts significant law enforcement membership, including CPD. A coalition of concerned groups from around the city will be hosting a panel discussion about this problem, and Rehumanize Chicago will be there to support them.

Join us on Sunday, November 10, at Movement on Montrose (2951 W. Montrose Ave.)! Doors open at 2pm. Event starts at 2:30.

Remember to vote against IVF on Tuesday, November 5

Rehumanize is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a big-tent coalition with a diversity of views, both of which are good reasons why we do not endorse parties or candidates the way that many advocacy organizations might.

However, sometimes individual issues are clearer, and one of Rehumanize's issues is on the ballot on Tuesday. The referendum reads:

Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?

We are urging voters to please vote NO on the IVF referendum. We are certainly not against reproductive health and assistance, but IVF (in vitro fertilization) as it is commonly practiced often creates many more embryos than are wanted, leading to "discarding" (killing) of living humans. We are against IVF insofar as we know it will not be practiced non-violently.

If you're still deciding what to think of IVF and embryo's rights, please take the time to consider this explainer from Rehumanize International. It is very well argued with science and reason and responds to common objections to the pro-life position.

Thank you for attending the Rehumanize International Conference

Just wanted to sincerely thank anyone who attended the Rehumanize International conference this past weekend. Sometimes the Consistent Life Ethic is kind of lonely, and it is good to be in a community and among friends. See you next year!

Join our Keybase Chat

Sometimes an opportunity to promote life and oppose violence comes up on short notice, and we don't have time to crank out a newsletter. If you want a more immediate way to hear from us, please join our Keybase chat. Introduce yourself, make friends, and share opportunities we should help with.

Follow us on social media

Following us on social media is a great way to keep up with what we're up to, and interacting with our posts will help other people discover us. Give us a boost!

Police Accountability Panel Sunday, Torture Justice Fundraiser, and Some Election Thoughts

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Sunday, November 10, 2:30-4:30 -- Oppose Oath Keepers in CPD

Join us on Sunday, November 10, at Movement on Montrose (2951 W. Montrose Ave.)! Doors open at 2pm. Event starts at 2:30.

Join us for the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Foundation Fundraiser in December

We have several tickets to give away for the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Foundation's "Making History, Forging a New Future" fundraising event on Tuesday, December 3, from 6pm-9pm at Overflow Coffee at 1449 S. Michigan Ave. It will be nice to have several Consistent Life Ethic friends there to celebrate and support reparations for and education about torture by police in Chicago.

If you're interested in joining us, please send an email to secretary@rehumanizechicago.org or reach out to us on Keybase or through any of our social links listed at the bottom.

Petition President Biden to protect death row inmates before President-elect Trump takes office

We're grateful to live in a state with no death penalty, but we still worry about federal executions. The previous Trump administration carried out a slew of executions in his final days, and on the campaign this year he has openly fantasized about carrying out more.

Our friends at Death Penalty Action are sponsoring a petition to convince President Biden, an opponent of the death penalty, to take several actions to protect those on death row. Sign here to show your opposition to killings in your name.

Some thoughts on the 2024 election

Rehumanize has never and can never endorsed candidates or parties, and nor would we want to do so. We've all known for a long time that neither major party embraces the Consistent Life Ethic.

But this past election was a particularly tough one. The Democratic Party dropped their opposition to the death penalty, and the Republican presidential candidate ran on opposition to banning abortion and on mandating funding for IVF. There is every reason to believe that, from a strictly electoral standpoint, he was wise to do so, as voters in 7 in 10 states passed referenda to protect abortion in their state constitutions, and, on top of all those, Illinois voted completely overwhelmingly in favor of requiring insurance companies cover in vitro fertilization despite the violence of IVF. It's clear that a stunning number of people are happy to embrace racism and xenophobia and misogyny and any number of other forms of dehumanization and legalized violence as long as that violence includes elective abortion. Our friends at the Consistent Life Network would call this the seamless shroud.

So what are we, as consistent lifers, to do about this? As far as I can tell, people are dealing with finding out their policy positions are wildly unpopular in three ways.

We could simply lie.

Lots of people right now who are being confronted with evidence that their policy positions are electorally toxic are dealing with it by lying both to themselves and other people. We could spin all the ballot referenda as "better than expected" or something. We could join the pro-choice movement in pretending Trump ran as an anti-abortion candidate. We could act like the data show Harris would've won if only she'd embraced more progressive policies on immigration or police demilitarization or something.

The data from exit polling and post-election polls is still coming in, and the narratives are still being written, but all these claims range from ridiculous to just untrue. It would feel good to fool ourselves, and maybe we could even fool a few others, but it's not a strategy. It's not a way of changing what the next election will ultimately bring if we don't do something different.

We could abandon our principles.

"Don't blame the voters!" the cry rings out, and, for what it's worth, this at least has the structure of a strategy. At the same time that the Republican Party is giving a full-throated defense of IVF and attacking abortion bans, many Democrats are floating adopting dehumanizing language and policies against LGBT+ people, especially against trans rights, adopting "America First" immigration policies, or disavowing the progress women have made against sexual violence in the #MeToo movement.

On top of being morally odious, these tactics carry more risks than many advocates admit--our opponents are likely to paint us with the most extreme versions of all our positions whether we adhere to them or not, and it's always a gamble whether any given message will actually break through.

This is a fool's game. It's both extremely uncertain and far too costly to us and to the ones we hold dear.

We could just keep doing our jobs.

In the post-election madness, we all seem to have forgotten some pretty fundamental facts.

Voters (and people who choose not to vote) are moral agents who make choices, not an immutable force of nature.
Most of us do not run national or statewide electoral campaigns. People who do this for a living aren't going to take our advice on how to win elections, and if we're not political scientists or data analysts, they probably shouldn't.
Activism is an ongoing process into which one quadrennial Tuesday is mostly a minor interruption.

Monday-morning quarterbacking campaigns is dull and mostly useless. It's a way for spectators to pass the time. We're not spectators. We're activists, and we're going to keep doing all the things we do whether or not it's an election year. We continue to work to persuade people that our worth is not based on circumstance but on our shared humanity

by keeping people informed about consistent life issues and goings-on in the Chicago metropolitan area.
by pressuring elected officials every year and in all seasons to recognize and protect our human rights.
by connecting with consistent life ethic organizations around the city and in the region.
by boosting the good work of other human rights organizations and helping them wherever we agree.
by living our lives nonviolently.

And if we do that work every day for four years solid, maybe the next quadrennial election won't go quite as badly as this one. Or maybe it will, but either way it won't feel as bad because we'll look back on our own accomplishments and know we don't depend solely on elections for change.

And thank you for voting, anyway.

I don't want to drop the subject without saying: thank you to everyone who found some way to make yourself known on (or before) election day. There aren't many of us, but that only makes it more important, not less important, that the few of us there are be counted.

As a gesture of my gratitude, I promise not to write long and dull opinions like this very often. ☺️

Join our Keybase Chat

Follow us on social media

Following us on social media is a great way to keep up with what we're up to, and interacting with our posts will help other people discover us. Give us a boost!

CTJMF Fundraiser Tomorrow, Founding a Suburban Mutual Aid Network, and an Open Officer Position

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Join us for the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Foundation Fundraiser Tomorrow

We are proud to be cosponsors of the the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Foundation's "Making History, Forging a New Future" fundraising event! Please join us tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3, from 6pm-9pm at Overflow Coffee at 1449 S. Michigan Ave. It will be nice to have several Consistent Life Ethic friends there to celebrate and support reparations for and education about torture by police in Chicago.

If you're interested in joining us, please buy a ticket, and to coordinate to sit with us, send an email to secretary@rehumanizechicago.org or reach out to us on Keybase or through any of our social links listed at the bottom.

Exploring Founding a Suburban Mutual Aid Network

Mutual aid networks connect people with material needs to resources in their communities. We're admire their important work, but, as one of our members has pointed out, they often explicitly support elective induced abortion.

We're exploring the possibility of creating a life-affirming mutual aid network to serve the suburbs. We don't have a lot of news to share at the moment, but if you have any interest in helping such a group, please reach out through any channel and we'll get you connected up! We're not yet committed to any one idea of how this should look, so if you have thoughts now would be a good time to get involved and share.

Open volunteer position in Rehumanize Chicago

We have an open volunteer position! If you're looking to maximize your impact on the consistent life ethic movement with just a tiny time commitment, this is a good opportunity for you. We need a treasurer role filled--wait, don't scroll away! Rehumanize International handles all the hard stuff. We have a very small amount of money available to us through Rehumanize International and no regular expenses.

This is a very important role to have filled for accountability reasons, but really the commitment involved amounts to checking the bottom line on a spreadsheet every few months or so. It would be an excellent opportunity for someone who has trouble making regular events or needs a lot of flexibility in a volunteer opportunity.

If you have any interest or any questions about the position of treasurer, please reach out through any channel, and by all means if you know a consistent lifer who might be interested, please pass this on.

The Dreaded Giving Tuesday

I rarely solicit donations here for a number of reasons. Primarily, I want folks to trust that we aren't going to spam them with repeated requests for monetary support. I want people to know every time they open one of these emails (at-most monthly!) or follow any of our social accounts that it's full of useful, skimmable, actionable information.

Another reason is that, frankly, we have very little need for money. This is an operation that runs on manpower much more than dollars.

But I figure you'll forgive me if, once a year, I make a brief pitch for Rehumanize Chicago in honor of Giving Tuesday, and it is this: Rehumanize Chicago is an incredibly efficient local 501c3 charity. We have no employees. We have no building with rent and utilities to support. Even our website is hosted for free. If you decide to donate to Rehumanize Chicago, you can be confident your entire tax-deductible donation will go to our most direct needs in the mission of promoting the consistent life ethic and opposing violence in the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

If you would like to donate, please follow the instructions on our website. We accept PayPal.

Join our Keybase Chat

Follow us on social media

Following us on social media is a great way to keep up with what we're up to, and interacting with our posts will help other people discover us. Give us a boost!

Join us for a pro-immigration rally on Saturday

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Rally to Stop the Attacks on Immigrants on Saturday, February 8

These past two weeks have been very tough for people who believe that human rights should not depend on national origin. This coming Saturday, February 8 at 1pm in La Villita Park we will join a march with a wide coalition of groups around the city to protest the unjust treatment of our neighbors. Come with us, and bring a friend!

Exploring Founding a Suburban Mutual Aid Network

Join our Keybase Chat

Consistent Life News

Follow us on social media

Following us on social media is a great way to keep up with what we're up to, and interacting with our posts will help other people discover us. Give us a boost!

Sign Witness Slips for Public Defender Oversight and Rally for Trans Rights

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Sign Witness Slips for the Illinois FAIR Act

Presently, Illinois is one of just three states without any statewide oversight ensuring counties provide adequate, constitutionally-required representation for accused people with financial need. With zero state oversight, it isn't surprising that counties are universally underfunding their public defense systems, which risks putting innocent people behind bars.

You can support the bill by filling out witness slips for Tuesday's and Thursday's Judiciary Committtee hearings.

Meet us for the Trans Rally for Visibility on Sunday, March 30

Misinformation and dehumanizing rhetoric toward trans people fuels violence and hatred toward the trans community. Bring your signs and join us at Federal Plaza on Sunday, March 30 from 1pm to 3pm to show solidarity in the spirit of the consistent life ethic. Learn more on Mobilize.

Join our Keybase Chat

Consistent Life News

Follow us on social media

Following us on social media is a great way to keep up with what we're up to, and interacting with our posts will help other people discover us. Give us a boost!

Sidewalk Advocate with Us and Help us Canvas for Public Defense

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

And if you're doing any kind of consistent life or anti-violence advocacy anywhere in the greater Chicago metropolitan area, please let us know so we can give you a boost!

Sign up for a Pretrial Fairness canvassing event near you

The Illinois Network for Pretrial Fairness is launching canvas events across several counties and you can learn more and sign up on their Google form.

The Illinois FAIR (Funded Advocacy and Independent Representation) Act would create an Office of State Public Defender to ensure counties are meeting their public defense obligations adequately and fairly. Be sure to sign up for updates on their website to get alerts for witness slip opportunities.

Submit your artwork to Create | Encounter

Rehumanize International's annual art contest, Create | Encounter, is open to submissions through May 31, 2025. If you have a piece of artwork that speaks against violence and in favor of human dignity for marginalized groups, be sure to submit it to Rehumanize International.

Join our Keybase Chat

Consistent Life News

Know of something we should be paying attention to? Tag us in on any platform or shoot us an email.

Police Militarization Protest Sunday and Last Chance to Submit Art

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

March against police militarization and for police accountability

Late last month, President Trump signed an executive order to end federal consent decrees governing reform efforts by police departments as well as to increase the militarization of police.

On Sunday, May 25 at 2pm we will be joining groups in downtown Chicago in Federal Plaza to protest against police militarization and for police accountability as well as to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.

Submit your artwork to Create | Encounter

We have pamphlets!

We made a run of two kinds of informational pamphlets for our chapter! One is a general introduction to Rehumanize Chicago and the consistent life ethic and the other is an issue-specific pamphlet about IVF and embryo destruction.

If you would like a stack of either of the pamphlets to distribute, please let us know!

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

And if you're doing any kind of consistent life or anti-violence advocacy anywhere in the greater Chicago metropolitan area, please let us know so we can give you a boost!

Join our Keybase Chat

Rally for Immigrants Tomorrow, Supporting Torture Victims, and Research on IVF

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Protest for immigrants' rights tomorrow at 2pm

Earlier this week, local police departments collaborated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in detaining around 10 people in the South Loop of Chicago, in an apparent violation of both state law and local ordinance. These laws exist not just to protect immigrants from unjust deportation but to protect everyone; when police collaborate with ICE, they discourage immigrants from reporting violent crimes.

We will be protesting tomorrow, Sunday, June 8 at 2pm in Plaza Tenochtitlán in Pilsen to demand that law enforcement follow the law and that ICE release those detained. Please consider joining us in support of our neighbors!

Rally for Victims of Police Torture on Saturday, June 21

The Chicago Police Department has a long and tragic history of torturing false confessions from suspects. The city and state have acknowledged this history, but today many of those victims are still behind bars.

On Saturday, June 21 at 12pm, we will be rallying at Washington Square Park at 901 N. Clark St. in Chicago to ask Gov. Pritzker for pardons for police torture survivors and for clemency for all cases recommended by the Prison Review Board.

Join us there!

Help us with IVF research

One of our members is working on researching the ways that embryo-destructive in vitro fertilization (IVF) is funded. Please reach out if you'd like to help with this important project, particularly if you have any expertise in a relevant domain, such as economics, insurance, or law.

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Send us news and events!

If you see anti-violence activism we should be involved in, or if you'd like to represent Rehumanize Chicago in the activism you're doing in your neighborhood or suburb, please be in touch! As a multi-issue consistent life ethic organization, we aim to cover as much ground as possible.

Join our Keybase Chat

Consistent Life News

We've got a fair amount of good news mixed in with the bad, this time! 🎉

Supporting Membership Benefits are Here and Join a Rally Nationwide on Thursday

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Rehumanize International has launched a membership system!

Very exciting news out of Rehumanize International this month. They've launched four membership tiers for monthly donors including merch, a Life Matters Journal subscription, and virtual hangouts!

If you'd like your membership to support our local chapter in the Chicago metropolitan region, you can sign up through the form on our website instead of Rehumanize International's website. You'll still receive all of the perks from Rehumanize International, but your donations will go toward promoting the consistent life ethic at home.

We hope to see you at the virtual hangouts!

Join a "Good Trouble" march near you this Thursday

On Thursday, July 17, a coalition of groups will be gathering and marching to honor the human rights legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis. You can join us at the march in downtown Chicago or join any of the marches across the suburbs on the same day. As always, reach out if you want to meet up. We'd love to see you!

Help us with IVF research

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Send us news and events!

Join our Keybase Chat

Oppose the Broadview ICE facility and Learn about Starvation in Gaza

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Attend a teach-in about the Broadview ICE facility

CAARPR will be holding a teach-in about the new campaign to close the Broadview ICE facility. Join us at noon on Sunday at Casa Michoacán, 1638 S Blue Island Ave in Chicago to learn how we can support immigrants' rights and oppose inhumane carceral conditions.

Virtual: Watch a talk on the starvation in Gaza from Rehumanize International

Rehumanize is launching a virtual speaker series for activists, and the first one is scheduled for Thursday, August 21 at 4pm CDT over Zoom. We will be hearing from Jason Jones from the Vulnerable People project about his work on the ground for Palestinians.

Register on Rehumanize International's website. In lieu of a registration cost, we ask that you consider donating whatever you can to the Vulnerable People project.

Rehumanize International has launched a membership system!

Very exciting news out of Rehumanize International. They've launched four membership tiers for monthly donors including merch, a Life Matters Journal subscription, and virtual hangouts!

We hope to see you at the virtual hangouts!

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Send us news and events!

Join our Keybase Chat

Protest Against Operation Midway Blitz at Great Lakes Naval Base

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Protest ICE at Great Lakes Naval Base

The president has deployed a surge of ICE agents to attack Chicago in what he is calling "Operation Midway Blitz."

We intend to show up with a coalition of groups at Great Lakes Naval Base at 464 Sheridan Road in North Chicago at 5pm.

Join us and let's stand up for our neighbors being snatched off the streets.

There's been a lot going on--too much even--and we're committed to keeping the newsletter to at-most monthly in order to be sensitive to our members' time, but if you'd like to hear about more opportunities to support life and oppose violence, check out our social links or our Keybase chat below!

Rehumanize International has launched a membership system!

Very exciting news out of Rehumanize International. They've launched four membership tiers for monthly donors including merch, a Life Matters Journal subscription, and virtual hangouts!

We hope to see you at the virtual hangouts!

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Send us news and events!

Join our Keybase Chat

Choose Your Own Adventure Saturday and Come to Our Annual Conference!

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Hands Off Chicago / No Kings on Saturday, October 18

We will have members downtown and across the suburbs at noon on Saturday, October 18 to protest ICE and the attempted illegal National Guard deployment.

Learn more and find a location.

Want to try to meet up? Let us know where you're headed and we'll see if we can find you some consistent life friends.

Also Saturday, October 18: Support Prenatal Rights at the Palatine March for Life

We will also be representing our consistent life perspective at the March for Life in Palatine on Saturday, October 18 at 12:30pm at 455 N. Benton St. in Palatine, IL.

Join our Conference Virtually or Live in DC

The Rehumanize International annual conference will be Friday, October 31 to Sunday, November 2 both online and in Washington, DC

The conference is an excellent opportunity to hear about inspiring work and relax with likeminded people from around the world. Virtual tickets start at $25.

Join our Keybase Chat

Save the Date for Our March in January

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Join our Day of Horror and Hope March

On Thursday, January 22, 2025, join us for our Day of Horror and Hope march. We will start at Family Planning Associates in downtown Chicago on Washington Street at 6pm.

Learn more about our event on our website and on the website for the national day of action.

Let us know you're coming on EventBrite or on Facebook and be sure to bring a friend.

The Merch for Life

If you'd like to rep the Rehumanize Chicago chapter at activist gatherings near you (or if you're just in the market for some cozy new gear this winter!) we have great news for you: you can find official Rehumanize Chicago merch on the Rehumanize International merch shop on Redbubble.

Get your orders in soon and be ready for the march in January.

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Become a supporting member

Rehumanize International now has four membership tiers for monthly donors including merch, a Life Matters Journal subscription, and virtual hangouts!

We hope to see you at the virtual hangouts!

Join our Keybase Chat

Vigil against suicide and the quarterly virtual member meeting

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Attend a vigil against physician assisted suicide on Thursday evening

Illinois Right to Life Action will be holding a candlelight vigil against SB 1950, Illinois's physician assisted suicide bill, which currently sits on Governor Pritzker's desk awaiting his signature or veto.

Join us to encourage him to veto on Thursday, December 11, at 4:30pm outside Gov. Pritzker's Chicago office at 555 W Monroe St. Chicago, IL.

Whether or not you can be there consider signing and sharing their petition asking Pritzker to veto the bill.

Quarterly virtual Rehumanize International meeting for supporting members

Rehumanize International now has four membership tiers for monthly donors including merch, a Life Matters Journal subscription, and virtual hangouts!

The next quarterly virtual hangout for supporting members will be on Monday, December 15 at 6:30pm central time and is open to all supporting members at the $25/month tier or higher. Come and meet Rehumanize supporters from all over the world.

We hope to see you at the virtual hangouts!

Join our Day of Horror and Hope March

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, join us for our Day of Horror and Hope march. We will start at Family Planning Associates in downtown Chicago on Washington Street at 6pm.

Learn more about our event on our website and on the website for the national day of action.

Let us know you're coming on EventBrite or on Facebook and be sure to bring a friend.

The Merch for Life

Get your orders in soon and be ready for the march in January.

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Join our Keybase Chat

Join us for the Chicago Day of Horror and Hope March for the Consistent Life Ethic!

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Join our Day of Horror and Hope March

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, join us for our Day of Horror and Hope march. We will start at Family Planning Associates in downtown Chicago on Washington Street at 6pm. We'll be covering human rights issues from prenatal rights to deportation violence to physician-assisted suicide to war.

Learn more about our event on our website and on the website for the national day of action.

Let us know you're coming on EventBrite or on Facebook and be sure to bring a friend.

Give us a boost on social media

We're excited about the Chicago Day of Horror and Hope and want it to be a success because it's an opportunity to talk about the consistent life ethic and our multi-issue platform.

Whether or not you can make it, we would really appreciate you sharing our event, whether it's on social media, with people you know personally, or perhaps your favorite local organization or faith-based group.

If you don't think you know anyone who's interested in the consistent life ethic... even better! Tell folks who have little reason to know we that exist, and we're trying to do good work.

Join Voices for Life in Des Plaines on Saturday, February 14

Voices for life is a prenatal rights organization from South Bend, Indiana, and they are coming to the Chicago suburbs next month to stand on the front lines outside the American Women's Medical Center at 6 N River Rd, Des Plaines.

We are so excited to work with them. If you want to join us, we'll be out there from 9am to 12pm. Parking will be available at Lion Woods across the street. Hope to see you there!

The Merch for Life

Get your orders in soon and be ready for the march in January.

Join our Keybase Chat

Chicago Day of Horror and Hope Remarks

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, Rehumanize Chicago gathered for the Chicago Day of Horror and Hope, part of the National Horror and Hope Day of Action. We marched, chanted, and gave speeches for the Consistent Life Ethic.

The remarks we gave are gathered here.

Supporting Prenatal Rights outside Family Planning Associates

We are existing with an increasingly fascistic society. A society that sorts people into categories: disposable or not disposable, a person who deserves care or not enough of a person to justify care. The mainstream pro choice movement has decided to become a second face of fascism, beyond the obvious fascism within the Republican party: the smallest and youngest members of our species have been declared human non-people, whose worth are subject to how good circumstances they exist within, are.

People who obtain abortions in many, many cases are going through a lot, and their circumstances are often devastating. We as a society need to fight for as many people as we can. Every preventable loss is a tragedy worth mourning.

I hope and pray that the lives of women in tragic situations with pregnancy complications are also fully protected by law. I also hope and pray that within especially the American people, but also throughout global society as a whole, respect for unborn human life, accompanied by a love for women and a refusal to surrender them and their needs, grows and elective abortion is no longer considered a right. We carry forward and fight for the lives of all. I will mourn the dead, and fight for the living and for future generations.

People who consider any group of people, including the unborn, as disposable and not worth fighting for, are oftentimes declaring that there is a such thing as a human non-person, and I refuse to accept that.

No one is disposable because they are weak, tiny, or unwanted. A person is a person, no matter how small. Children are people, not property, from conception and fertilization to adulthood. No one owns us. We were all conceived free, equal, and worthy of Love.

We live in a world, currently, that grinds all of us, from the unborn to women to the poor to immigrants up, and chews us up and spits us out. The less powerful someone is, the more disposable they are being deemed by this current administration which is not truly pro life, and by the powerful in every administration under so many circumstances. I call upon the powerful to pay attention to the plight of all those less powerful than them. Money may not trickle down, but harm and preventable death most certainly does.

—Mary

Opposing War outside the former Boeing Headquarters

We are now standing in the shadow of the Boeing Building, which has been sitting nearly empty since Boeing moved their headquarters to Virginia a few years ago. We are here to acknowledge the ongoing problem of the military-industrial complex: a system that demands we keep spending our money, our taxes, on weapons. It spends our money on weapons that we hope we never have reason to use, but also on weapons like nuclear missiles that we know there is never a good reason to use.

This building is one of many places in the world where Boeing has left their stamp and moved on, but the sign of Boeing’s passage is more often a crater than a logo on a skyscraper. In that sense, at least, we in Chicago are lucky. Around the world, people and places alike still bear the scars- visible and invisible- of bombing campaigns, drone strikes, and other military actions executed by the US or its proxies and funded by our tax dollars.

The problem is not just that our tax money is wasted on weapons that destroy lives. The weapons that are not used in war are wasteful, too. Weapons manufacturers, in order to justify all of the money they take from us to build our arsenal, try to invent new uses for these weapons. When we see police forces militarizing with supplies that the actual military no longer has any use for, it’s because it’s an easy way for a member of congress to add to the amount of money they bring to their district. And having been given this military equipment, police forces feel the need to practice with and maintain it, which sometimes means looking for reasons to use it. And we have seen this year how quickly our country can recruit an over-equipped and undertrained police force to terrorize our communities—Yeah, I'm talking about ICE. Every time arms manufacturers tighten their grip on our government, they tighten their grip on us, too.

The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which is the reason this is a day of hope and not just horror, is a sign of a world that wants to grow past a climate of fear that leads to so many resources going toward weapons of war rather than tools of peace, tanks instead of tractors, weapons targeting systems instead of medical equipment, swords instead of plowshares.

Boeing’s logo on this empty building is, in a way, also a sign of hope. There are things made through the military-industrial complex that still have a use in a peaceful society. There are many instances where aircraft carriers have served a valuable role in disaster relief, and this building, though now empty, may someday be useful again.

—Tim

Opposing Suicide and Supporting Torture Survivors outside the Hyatt

We’re here at the Hyatt. We’re not protesting the Hyatt per se, but we wanted to visit a place where we could talk about a couple of specific statewide issues, and the Hyatt is the source of the Pritzker family wealth.

We’re aligned with Pritzker in some ways. He’s fought for protestors and against the federalization of the National Guard in court, for example, but there are two issues we’re here to raise tonight.

First, we have to talk about the recent signing of the physician-assisted suicide law, which was shocking and saddening. A small act of resistance that is important to me is to call it a physician-assisted suicide law. I am not going to use euphemisms like “aid in dying” or “end of life care”. Proponents argue it is not “technically” suicide because the agents do not “feel” suicidal, which offends me as a person who knows what the word “technically” means.

When I was suicidal I was given unconditional suicide prevention. No one at any point—for a number of years!—asked me if I had a “good reason” for wanting suicide because the it is the position of the state that I should be protected under the law.

The State of Illinois now says such protection under the law is conditional. It is only my privilege as a person who does not have a qualifying diagnosis that entitles me to suicide prevention, and after this law goes into effect, anyone who loses that privilege could be legally assisted in suicide without the requirement of a screening by a mental health professional.

The other issue I want to mention briefly is torture and criminal justice. As I’m sure many of you know, this city suffered illegal police torture for several decades. The Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission is appointed by the governor and tasked with reviewing cases and freeing the people who were wrongfully convicted after having false confessions illegally tortured out of them. However, unfortunately, most victims are still incarcerated. At the rate that they’re currently working, it would take the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission many more decades just to review all of the unreviewed cases. Many innocent people will live and die in prisons in this state who are innocent torture victims who should be free.

We have reason to hope though. The governor could unilaterally grant clemency to torture victims, and there is presently an ongoing campaign led by the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression to encourage Pritzker to free them all. We’re going to be right there with them and give them a boost at every opportunity.

We haven’t given up on raising awareness and freeing torture survivors, and we haven’t given up opposing assisted suicide, and we haven’t given up on opposing ICE, and that’s where we’re headed next!

—Eleanor

Supporting Immigrants' Rights and Opposing ICE outside ICE Headquarters

Why are we here? What does immigration enforcement have to do with “life issues”? The death penalty ends human life. Abortion ends human life. Suicide, medically sanctioned or not, ends human life. War ends human life on a massive scale.

ICE? Immigration enforcement? That doesn’t kill anyone.

Why protest this organization’s very existence? Is what ICE does comparable to the slaughter of unborn children at abortion clinics, or the war in Ukraine or the war in Gaza, or anything else in this pantheon of “life issues”? Is ICE really THAT bad?

As a consistent life ethic activist, as someone who protested ICE during the Obama administration, as a pro-life advocate who stands and prays outside of abortion clinics, and a concerned citizen of the United States, my answer to that question is, “yes.” ICE is that bad. How? Why?

The short answer is: that ICE systemically violates human dignity.

Let’s take it for granted that ICE doesn’t intentionally or actively kill people, that the death of Renee Good, while tragic, was ultimately justifiable. Ok, fine. Let’s set aside the countless examples of people whose deportation was effectively a death sentence.

Why are we setting the bar so low? You don’t need to actively kill someone to violate their dignity. There are all sorts of ways to violate human dignity.

physical and sexual abuse
torture or “enhanced interrogation”
police brutality
wage theft and dangerous working conditions

These are things that “shock the conscience”, things that offend our moral sensibility. You don’t need to make an argument that these things are wrong—we can intuitively sense that there’s a moral gravity to these things, that a line has been crossed, that something has been transgressed, or, more specifically, somebody, another human being, has been unnecessarily and unjustly hurt.

It shouldn’t have to be said that detaining and imprisoning someone indefinitely, without proper food, clean water, or medical care, is a violation of their human dignity.

It shouldn’t need to be stated that forcing someone to travel thousands of miles with nothing but the clothes on their back to a place they haven’t been to in decades, if ever, is something that cries out to heaven as a grave injustice, especially when then the stated reason, and often, the only reason for doing so is because of a minor civil infraction in the distant past.

The reality is that ICE is predicated on, and continues to systemically commit, exactly these kinds of horrors that make our souls weep. Millions upon millions of detentions and deportations, mostly of people who are not criminals in any meaningful sense of the word. Children left without their mother or fathers, or without any caregiver or next of kin. Churches, schools, and other community institutions robbed of their lifeblood. This is ICE’s legacy, what ICE stands for, what it’s designed to do, and what it continues to do to this very day, up to this very moment. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we protest.

Because even though it shouldn’t have to be said that mass deportation is wrong, sometimes some people need a reminder that human dignity isn’t dependent upon citizenship, that it doesn’t go away because you crossed a country’s border illegally, and the other people that don’t need a reminder deserve to know what ICE is actually doing: the organized, systemic violation of human dignity in the form of unjust detention and deportation.

And so because of this we stand here today, in horror, yes, but also in hope that these terrible things might one day come to an end and we’ll continue to protest and advocate for human dignity until the day comes.

ABOLISH ICE!

—Andy

Sidewalk Counsel in Des Plaines, and Plan for the Next No Kings

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Join Voices for Life in Des Plaines on Saturday, February 14

We are so excited to work with them. If you want to join us, we'll be out there from 9am to 12pm. Parking will be available at Lion Woods across the street. Hope to see you there!

The Next No Kings March is March 28

Save the date for the next No Kings March on March 28. We'll be out there voicing opposition to the escalating government violence over the past year, especially the recent murders by immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.

Read the Speeches from Chicago Day of Horror and Hope

On Thursday, January 22, Rehumanize Chicago joined in the National Day of Horror and Hope by holding a march downtown here in Chicago. We gave four speeches in support of the consistent life ethic, starting at the abortion clinic Family Planning Associates and ending at Immigration and Customs Enforcement Headquarters downtown.

The speeches we gave are reproduced here. If you know someone who should know what Rehumanize is about, have them read this collection of speeches. It's a good summary of the issues we're working on and why we're working on them.

Supporting Prenatal Rights outside Family Planning Associates

—Mary

Opposing War outside the former Boeing Headquarters

—Tim

Opposing Suicide and Supporting Torture Survivors outside the Hyatt

—Eleanor

Supporting Immigrants' Rights and Opposing ICE outside ICE Headquarters

ICE? Immigration enforcement? That doesn’t kill anyone.

The short answer is: that ICE systemically violates human dignity.

Why are we setting the bar so low? You don’t need to actively kill someone to violate their dignity. There are all sorts of ways to violate human dignity.

physical and sexual abuse
torture or “enhanced interrogation”
police brutality
wage theft and dangerous working conditions

It shouldn’t have to be said that detaining and imprisoning someone indefinitely, without proper food, clean water, or medical care, is a violation of their human dignity.

ABOLISH ICE!

—Andy

Three Protests This Month and Submit Artwork for Create | Encounter

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Anti-War Protest Tomorrow

We will be joining the anti-war protest tomorrow, Saturday, March 7 at noon at Water Tower Park at 806 N. Michigan Ave. Come out and raise your voice against these killings.

Anti-Torture Townhall on March 21

The Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST) will be holding a townhall event on Saturday, March 21, from 4pm to 8pm at a location to be determined. Find CAARPR on social media for the most up-to-date information. We will also post information on our social accounts when we know more.

The Next No Kings March is March 28

There are so many protests planned both downtown and across the suburbs! Find one on the map near you, and if you'd like to coordinate, join our Keybase

Submit Your Artwork to Create | Encounter

Create | Encounter is Rehumanize International's annual arts contest. If you make artwork that promotes human rights, make your submission by Sunday, May 31. Details can be found on Rehumanize International's Create | Encounter page.

Be sure to pass this along to the artists you know!

Read about civil disobedience and the rule of law on the Rehumanize blog

Rehumanize Chicago's own Tim Kirchoff is a regular contributor to the Rehumanize International blog. His latest piece focuses on the moral distinction between different kinds of law-breaking and clarifies why it's okay to participate in nonviolent civil disobedience while still rightly decrying the lawlessness of the Trump administration's military actions.

Read it here!

The Pro-Life Coalition Letter to the Trump Administration about Detention of Mothers

Rehumanize International has built a coalition across the pro-life political spectrum to ask the Trump administration to reconsider how it treats pregnant, postpartum, and nursing mothers in immigration custody. This is a good resource to share with friends and family who may be pro-life and on the fence about ICE's conduct but hesitant to read progressive sources.

Read the full coalition letter on Rehumanize International's website and read the reporting on how it came to be from Sojourners

Sidewalk advocate with us downtown

We have members most Saturday mornings downtown in Chicago at Family Planning Associates. If you have a free Saturday morning now and again, let us know and let's coordinate to meet up.

Become a supporting member

Rehumanize International now has four membership tiers for monthly donors including merch, a Life Matters Journal subscription, and virtual hangouts!

We hope to see you at the virtual hangouts!