"Over the course of the last year, the world has continuously changed, becoming more violent and uncertain.”

Dan Gibbons, CEO of the City Club of Chicago and a former staffer for the city’s longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley, regarding the wave of issues that Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson must face immediately after taking office on May 15. (Associated Press — May 15, 2023)

Chairwoman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Candace Schmidt, regarding the unveiling of a U.S. Postal Service stamp that features the portrait of Chief Standing Bear, who was forced, along with about 700 other members of the Ponca tribe, by the Army to leave his homeland in northeast Nebraska and walk 600 miles to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Chief Standing Bear and others tried to return to their homelands and the chief was arrested, prompting him to file a lawsuit that led to a ruling in 1870 that ordered his release and found that a Native American is a person with a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. USPS has printed 18 million of the stamps. (Associated Press — May 12, 2023)

West Virginia State Board of Education President Paul Hardesty, regarding new data that found that roughly 1 in 4 of the 4,276 foster care students enrolled in the state’s public schools were suspended last year due to disciplinary issues and were more likely than their peers to receive out-of-school suspensions rather than in-school suspensions. Further, Black foster care students lost an average of 14.7 days last school year due to suspension, approximately six more days than non-foster Black peers and white foster care peers. Around 1 in 5 of all Black students in West Virginia public schools were suspended during the 2021-2022 school year, regardless of foster care status. West Virginia is one of the states with the most children in foster care per capita. (Associated Press — May 11, 2023)

Retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, regarding the many calls for ethics reform for the Supreme Court, after some members failed to disclose high-cost gifts, expenses and business dealings. Luttig, who is a widely respected conservative judge, submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee for its hearing on Supreme Court ethics last week. (NPR — May 9, 2023)