Status Updates From Chicago: A Biography

So before there were mass layoffs, there were mass wage cuts. Working-class people have dealt with so much BS throughout out the short life of this country. In the grand scheme, who are you as one human being to tell me I must survive on less resources than humanly possible when you thrive on more resources that are not possible for one person to consume in a lifetime? How do live while others die at your behest?

“Success came in early 1867 as the Illinois legislature enacted the first 8-hour law in the country.”

Yay Illinois! But this just supports what people are saying about labor & wage laws & protections today—all companies in the US cannot be trusted to do right by their employees, communities, or even planet without fair regulation and real consequences that leave room for nothing but real accountability.

Edward Ely - Benefactor

Erring’s Women’s Refuge - 1863, white, middle-class, Protestant women opened the refuge…Challenging legal and social inequity which punished women—but not men—for extramarital sexual relations…provided prostitutes support and resources to leave the sex industry: education, job training, obstetric care, and influence of Xtian motherhood. By 1890 became a home for delinquent girls.

The audiobook was INCREDIBLY dry, so I’m going to try just reading the words instead of listening. The audiobook is convenient, but I can recall the names, dates, and places easier when I can see them written, and I’ll be giving it my own voice, so that should help too.

Based on all the chapter and section titles, I’ll end up rating this above a 3⭐️ for sure.