Advocates for political reform nationwide always take heart when something they favor happens close to Washington, believing changes at the local level will eventually boost interest in federal action. So there's excitement among crusaders against gerrymandering, because Virginia is on the cusp of depoliticizing the way its election boundaries are drawn.
Both chambers of the state legislature have passed measures that would call a statewide vote on amending the Virginia constitution to create a bipartisan redistricting commission. The two bills are different in some important ways, but the Washington Post editorial boardbelieves a compromise will be struck in coming days – because both Republican and Democratic legislators have concluded that claiming a good-government victory is in their best interests headed into the state's off-year campaign cycle.
"Facing the possibility of losses in this fall's legislative elections, and the certainty of new electoral maps following the 2020 Census, many in the GOP see a bipartisan redistricting commission as their best protection against the growing likelihood of Democratic dominance in Richmond," the paper writes. "For their part, Democrats have talked a good game on redistricting reform for years. Now, incumbents seem to realize they had better deliver or face the wrath of their own party's voters in June primaries."
Protest signs and resource information posters were hung up around a resource tent in Broadview, Illinois. Credit: Britton Struthers-Lugo, Oct. 30, 2025.
Rubber bullet wounds on Bryan’s back, after a day of protesting at the Broadview ICE facility in mid-September. He wears hospital scrubs, acquired after receiving medical attention following the pepper-spray incident earlier in the day. He returned to protest after being discharged from the hospital.Credit: Adriano Kalin (@adriano_kalin).
ICE officers gathered outside the Broadview detention center. Yellow identifying badges can be seen on the front of their uniforms and on their shoulders. Credit: Britton Struthers-Lugo, Oct. 30, 2025.
Screengrab from the Chicago Council of Lawyers. Designed by 
A white bus waits outside the Broadview Detention Center to transport detainees to a permanent detention center or to an airport. The Broadview Detention Center cannot hold detainees for longer than 12 hours, though to reflect increased enforcement operations this has been increased to 72 hours. Longer stays have been recorded since Operation Midway Blitz. Credit: By Britton Struthers-Lugo, Oct. 30, 2025.
A paper outlining resources and ways to report federal law enforcement activity around Chicago hangs on a gate in the protestor “free speech zone”.Credit: Britton Struthers-Lugo. Oct. 30, 2025.
