Troy Swanson

Using Our Power to Change Our Communities: A discussion led by the Workers Center for Racial Justice YouTube video by Moraine Valley Community College Library

We were excited to welcome The Workers’ Center for Racial Justice to campus today. Check out their amazing talk here: www.youtube.com/live/cf-BcPJ...
Their discussion of supporting formerly incarcerated individuals & organizing for policy reform was excellent.
@c4racialjustice.bsky.social

Adler Planetarium

Nice event for Speaker Welch tonight

296: The Legacy of Black Women in Librarianship: When They Dared to Be Powerful by Nicole A. Cooke Guest host Troy Swanson chats with Nicole A. Cooke, editor of The Legacy of Black Women in Librarianship: When They Dared to Be Powerful, about the history, impact, and ongoing contributions of Bla…

I was excited to interview Nicole Cooke on her new collection of essays on black women in librarianship. This is on the Circulating Ideas podcast. @circulatingideas.bsky.social

circulatingideas.com/2025/09/02/2...

Organized labor marched today in honor of Labor Day and to push back on the Trump agenda. Today, trade unions, k12 unions, higher ed unions, & government employee unions came together.

It was a nice day to be on the veranda at McCormick Place overlooking Lake Michigan for the Chicago Federation Of Labor’s Labor Day Luncheon. Normally this event is insufferably hot & humid but today was beautiful.
Great to connect with union allies & legislative partners.

Governor Signs HB 3385: Licensed Counselors Now Required on Illinois Campuses On August 15 at 3 p.m., Governor JB Pritzker signed HB 3385 into law, a landmark piece of legislation that will take effect January 1, 2026. This new law requires that all Illinois institutions of hig...

We are very excited that Governor Pritzker signed HB 3385 and the law requiring licensed mental health professionals on campuses. This was a legislative priority, and we are very much appreciative of our partners who helped make this happen!!
www.ccctu.org/post/governo...

We were proud to support many pro labor, pro public education, elected officials this week.

Thanks to representative Norma Hernandez and Senator Karina Villa for their great work in moving this legislation forward.

With only a few hours left in the legislative session, HB 3385 passed the house. This was a Local 1600 initiative that requires higher education institutions to have licensed mental health professionals on campus to support students.

HB 1859 has now passed the Senate and the house. It is awaiting the signature of a governor to become law!!

This ensures that only humans can award credit in community colleges. A first step in regulation of artificial intelligence in Illinois higher education!!

Listen to @troy-a-swanson.bsky.social talk about important community college issues. www.podbean.com/ep/pb-pnrmd-...

I also discussed the proposed GOP federal budget that decimates Pell grants and eliminates TRIO grants, which will have a disastrous impact on community college students.

CCCTU Legislative Chair on cuts to community colleges and Ill. SB 1693 The America’s Work Force Union Podcast is the nation’s premier daily labor program. Troy Swanson from CCCTU joined us on today’s show.

I was honored to be interviewed on the AWF Union Podcast where I discussed SB 1693 which establishes an elected board of trustees for the City Colleges of Chicago (and why this bill is stalled). You can listen here:

awf.labortools.com/listen/ccctu...

We continue to press forward on our legislation for an elected board of trustees for the City Colleges of Chicago. We have 70% of the IL Senate but our bill (SB1693) is not moving forward. Nice to see this article.

citizennewspapergroup.com/news/2025/ma...

We should be clear about Trump’s higher ed budget: these cuts are not about making education more affordable. They make it more exclusive, more privatized, & more out of reach for the people who need it most. It’s a direct assault on the promise of public education.

May Day march today. Unions, community groups & regular folks took to the streets to protest the Trump administration. It was a great day with 15,000+ marchers. #mayday2025

We are hoping to see this move into hearings in the Senate.

YouTube video by Cook County College Teachers Union Elected Board for The City Colleges of Chicago (SB 1693): A Policy Briefing for Elected Officials

Last night we held a policy briefing on SB 1693 which establishes an elected board of trustees for the City Colleges of Chicago. You can watch the presentation here (18 minutes). youtu.be/nVNRGu47YMA

Today, HB 1598 passed the House of Representatives. We have worked hard on this bill which mandates licensed clinical counselors on college campuses. Thanks to Rep. Norma Hernandez for her leadership on this.

Now, on to the Senate!!

Protecting the Integrity of Community College Education: HB 1859 Passes Illinois House On April 7th, House Bill 1859 passed the Illinois House of Representatives with a decisive bipartisan vote of 87 in favor. The bill, championed by Representative Abdelnasser Rashid (D-21st), co-chair ...

HB 1859 passed the House! This bill requires credit in community colleges to only be awarded by humans (not AI). Thx to Rep Rashid for his leadership!

www.ccctu.org/post/protect...

How the media ecosystem is changing and the impact on politics and society YouTube video by Moraine Valley Community College Library

I was excited to be part of an excellent panel discussion this week on the state of the media ecosystem.

www.youtube.com/live/SWHjn60...

Western Illinois is failing it students. the Illinois General assembly is failing Western Illinois. Contact your representatives and senators and add pressure.

Western Illinois University cannot call itself a research institution as it cuts its librarians. It is failing its faculty and its students. It is heartbreaking to see such dedicated professionals being cut with no regard for the role they play within their institution.

There is wide acknowledgment that we are facing a student mental health crisis yet our administrators continue to cut counseling positions. We are working to support the mental health professionals who are supporting students. The bill passed out of committee unanimously.

Rep Hernandez, Shanya Gray & Tony Johnston did a great job testifying in the Illinois House Higher Ed committee today in support of HB 3385 supporting licensed counselors on our campuses.

Were you fired by President Trump? | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

If you are a federal employee in one of our scientific agencies who has been fired, please consider filling out this form. The House GOP may not give a damn about the the Enlightenment, objective truth or the Constitution but we do. democrats-science.house.gov/sciencefirings

Trump's 'Gulf of America' nonsense has become a test for journalism If reporters and editors don't stand up en masse against Trump's bullying of The Associated Press, there will likely be no end to his efforts to control them

Eric Zorn: Trump's 'Gulf of America' nonsense has become a test for journalism open.substack.com/pub/ericzorn...

“Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most.”
—Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker

YouTube video by KHQA Illinois Gov. Pritzker delivers 2025 State of the State and Budget Address

If you missed it, it is worth listening
youtu.be/lKQBk50H3u8