CUPPA Subject Matter Experts in the News Summer ’25
Media Coverage Highlights for UIC’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
Home Depot keeps quiet on immigration raids outside its doors
""Much of Home Depot's success has led to the conditions that we see in the industry today and why contractors turn to day laborers so often," said Nik Theodore, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago who's one of the top researchers on day laborers."Chicago Tribune / August 19
Editorial: DuSable Lake Shore Drive has become unsafe. Let’s do something about it.
"The law will have the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois Chicago do a study on whether cameras using artificial intelligence technology can make DuSable Lake Shore Drive safer." WGN AM Radio Chicago, WBBM News Radio also noted the UTC study.
Newsweek, / July 30
A Landmark Deal Just Reshaped the Future of US Rail
"P. S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center and director of METSI and research programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, also told Newsweek the proposed merger will result in "the ability to move goods from coast to coast in a seamless manner."The report was also mentioned in Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railroad.
CNN / July 21
How Home Depot became a magnet for day laborers and a target for ICE
"Day laborers have emerged as on-demand workforce at Home Depot as a result of these huge trends," said Nik Theodore, an urban planning and policy professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and one of the country's leading researchers on day laborers. But 'Home Depot is part of this story. They're not just innocent bystanders. The success of the company has helped create these conditions."
Houston Chronicle / July 6
Low wages and ICE threats: Inside the shadow economy of Texas construction
"It can be a “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude, said Nik Theodore, professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, who has studied undocumented workforce in Texas. For example, a firm will bid out a specific job, such as installing drywall, choosing the subcontractor who delivers the project at the lowest price. With many material costs relatively fixed, subcontractors can compete on price by keeping labor costs down, which often hinges on using low-wage immigrant labor, he said."
KQED / June 27
Stealing Day Laborers' Wages Could Worsen Due to ICE Raids, Researchers Warn
“Even among those who have attempted to recover [wages], an even lower percentage have actually done it,” said Nik Theodore, the report’s main author and director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois, Chicago. “So our systems really are failing day laborers and are allowing this kind of abuse to continue.”
Nonprofit Quarterly / June 26
The Role of Immigrant ‘Second Responders’ – What the LA Wildfires Teach Us
"Professor Nik Theodore, professor of Urban Planning at the University of Illinois, Chicago, who has long worked with NDLON to research and document the challenges and circumstances of immigrant day laborers in the United States, has paid close attention to how these workers frequently serve as “second responders,” taking on the often dangerous jobs of cleanup, remediation, and rebuilding after natural disasters."
The Conversation / June 25
Federal energy office illustrates the perils of fluctuating budgets and priorities
Christelle Khalaf, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at UIC, writes, "What we found serves as an example of how these changes have played out in the past, and it gives context to how the Trump administration’s changes are playing out now in that agency and across the federal government."
Fire & Safety Journal / June 25
Altadena Fire Cleanup Reveals Failures in Protective Equipment Use
"Nik Theodore, professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, said: “This was no small sample by any means. This was an attempt to be as comprehensive as possible and the patterns were clear.”
Chicago Tribune / June 24
Commentary
Urban Planning and Policy associate professor, Kate Lowe, co-authored an op-ed with Chicago Teachers Union Vice-President Jackson Potter, "While seeing quality public education and transit as rights, we explain both also yield collective benefits beyond direct beneficiaries. We discuss misplaced elite rhetoric and reform efforts overly critical of the public sector."
The American Prospect / June 10
Chicago's Public Transit Is In Limbo
"Chicago has experienced fiscal cliffs before, said P.S. Sriraj of the University of Illinois Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center, but this one is different since the money came from the federal government."
"According to Kate Lowe, a professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, that 50-50 split makes Chicago an outlier among American cities. Typically, transit systems carry less of the financial burden."
In These Times / June 4
The Flooded Future of Disaster Labor
"In the aftermath of a disaster, explained Nik Theodore, a professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois, Chicago, “information doesn’t flow very well.”
Courthouse News Service / June 4
Future for Chicago's transit system hangs in the balance after budget shortfall
"P.S. Sriraj, director of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Urban Transportation Center, said Chicago could be facing a paradigm shift in its public transportation system."
Chicago Tribune / June 3
Illinois senators left Springfield without funding public transit (for now.) Here's what that means for CTA, Metra, Pace.
Director of UIC's Urban Transportation Center, P.S. Sriraj was quoted on the transit funding challenge.
Chicago Sun Times / June 2
Public transit bill missed a big deadline. What happens next?
"Another option for lawmakers is a stopgap budget measure to fund transit agencies through the next year, said Kate Lowe, an associate professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago."
WLS-TV Channel 7 / June 1
Transit leaders warm of job, service cuts as Illinois budget fails to address RTA funding shortfall
P.S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center, said, "It's something that is going to affect whether you use public transportation or not. If they are leaning on public transportation now, they are going to be on the roads, which is going to increase travel times, increase mental anguish, more other road rage issues. There's going to be a whole slew [of impacts], including accidents."
Chicago Sun Times / May 28
Illinois lawmakers offer bill to address security, governance of mass transit around Chicago
Kate Lowe, associate professor of Urban Planning and Policy, said, “The CTA has obviously made some missteps. But I think [the board structure is] an over correction, and I think Chicago has been uniquely challenged in Illinois relative to other agencies."
San Fernando Valley Sun / May 28
New Report Reveals Deficiencies in Worksite Safety in Eaton Fire Recovery Zone
"Authored by Nik Theodore of the Center for Urban Economic Development, the report confirms that workers have been raising ash and dust using earth-moving equipment and other machinery, but very few wore adequate PPE to minimize their exposure to potentially toxic contaminants."
KCRW, May 23
Some workers lack protection from toxins as Eaton Fire cleanup continues
"“The use of PPE is not sufficient in this burn zone and it’s putting workers at risk,” says Nik Theodore, the report author and director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois - Chicago."
ABC7 Los Angeles / May 23
LA fire recovery: New report finds 'troubling deficiencies' in worksite safety
"Urban wildfires create enormously dangerous conditions with a lot of toxins in the air on the surfaces and in the soil," said Nik Theodore, professor of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago and author of the report."
NBC4 Los Angeles / May 22
New report shows gap in worker safety after the Eaton Fire
The report [by UIC Urban Planning and Policy Professor Nik Theodore] “Rebuilding Altadena: Critical Gaps in Worker Safety After the Eaton Fire” surveyed 240 active worksites in Altadena, where more than 1,200 workers were cleaning and rebuilding after the Eaton Fire. It found “very few” workers were using adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect their lungs from toxic contaminants, even as they were raising potentially dangerous ash and dust.
LA Times / May 22
Only a fraction of fire cleanup works are protecting themselves against toxic debris. One community center is fighting to change that
Director for the Center for Urban Economic Development and professor of Urban Planning and Policy, Nik Theodore, said, "This was no small sample by any means. This was an attempt to be as comprehensive as possible and the patterns were clear."
Wallet Hub / May 19
Cheap SR-22 Insurance
Urban Planning and Policy Professor Kheir Al-Kodmany said, "If you’re required to file an SR-22, it means the state sees you as a high-risk driver, so insurance companies may charge more. But there are smart ways to keep your costs down."