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- Currently in Chicago — October 16, 2023: Mostly cloudy, and a fond farewell
Currently in Chicago — October 16, 2023: Mostly cloudy, and a fond farewell
Plus, a look into the global criminalization of climate protests
Katje Sabin & Abbie Veitch
October 15, 2023
The weather, currently.
Rain and clouds continue
Cloudy skies will continue for the next few days; we’ll have up to an 80% chance of showers Monday morning. We’ll see a low in the low 50s tonight, and head up into the upper 50s tomorrow, but tomorrow night could go as low as 46. The clouds will roll out Monday night, and we will see sun and a high of 60 on Tuesday.
The Chicagoland meteorological scene was rocked by the announcement that beloved WGN-TV weatherman Tom Skilling will be retiring early next year, after a remarkable 45-year career of not only predictions but of educating others via seminars and articles in the Chicago Tribune. Fair skies to you, Tom!
What you need to know, currently.
Climate activists are no strangers to facing arrest and criminal charges for climate protests. Just last month, over 100 climate activists were arrested in New York City.
However, a “crackdown” on climate protests in Europe is raising alarm bells for human rights experts. The crackdown extends past Europe, Inside Climate News reports that the criminalization of climate protests is, “an increasingly global trend.”
In an interview with On the Media, climate reporter Amy Westervelt discusses how the Atlas Network, a collective of right-leaning think tanks, has worked to reframe climate protests as extremist and dangerous. This, in part, has led to an uptick in the criminalization of climate protests.
Westervelt covers this topic extensively alongside climate journalist Geoff Dembicki in “The Real Free Speech Threat” an investigative series on her podcast, Drilled.
What you can do, currently.
Currently Sponsorships are short messages we co-write with you to plug your org, event, or climate-friendly business with Currently subscribers. It’s a chance to boost your visibility with Currently — one of the world’s largest daily climate newsletters — and support independent climate journalism, all at the same time. Starting at just $105.
One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks:
