1) Sasha Abrmasky writes a cool piece in The Nation on the New Sanctuary movement, made famous in Chicago by the story of Elvira Arellano. There are some real contradictions for progressives between the moral protection these churches are offering immigrants and the legal protections they aren't, and Abrmasky takes some time to engage those questions, something I haven't seen in such depth before.
2) While you're at The Nation, check out my piece on the social justice education movement that's growing across America. These educators are inspiring folks, so familiarize yourself with their organizations and approach.
3) John Miller at Dollars and Sense tries to examine how deep the recession will go.
Adam Doster, a contributing editor at In These Times, is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former reporter-blogger for Progress Illinois.
