A Threat to Illinois Care Facilities for the Disabled

The Trump administration launched an investigation into whether the state of Illinois “unnecessarily institutionalizes, or puts at serious risk of institutionalization, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” City Journal associate editor John Hirschauer argues that the inquiry could result in a consent decree that would force vulnerable people out of their chosen homes.

Hirschauer speaks with a mother whose autistic son was brought to a state institution helmeted and restrained after a breakdown. She fears that the inquiry will result in her son leaving the facility, where “he is happy, healthy, adjusted.”

In collaboration with the Sun Valley Policy Forum (SVPF), several luminaries from the Manhattan Institute will speak at this year’s SVPF Summer Institute, on July 1st and 2nd. This two-day conference retreat will be held in the premier mountain town of Sun Valley, Idaho. Reihan Salam (Manhattan Institute President), Jesse Arm (Manhattan Institute Executive Director of External Affairs & Chief of Staff), Heather Mac Donald (Thomas W. Smith Fellow and Contributing Editor of City Journal), and Senior Fellows Jason Riley and Abigail Shrier will be featured in the programming, along with other notable thought leaders. As a benefit to City Journal readers, Reserve ticket bundle registrations will be upgraded to the Bronze pass level, which includes access to a private cocktail party. For more information on the program, go here; to register with MI benefits, go here.

Democratic frontrunner Andrew Cuomo was the prime target of the candidates at last Thursday’s mayoral debate, with his two closest competitors, State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander, the newly energized third-place contender, tag-teaming to attack the former governor over his past sexual harassment scandals, alleged corruption, and more.

But Cuomo held his ground, calling the prospect of a Mamdani mayoralty “reckless and dangerous,” stressing his executive experience, and touting his record standing up to Donald Trump.

Mamdani and Lander capped the night by cross-endorsing each other, hoping to consolidate the progressive vote now that early voting is underway. But their alliance, writes John Ketcham, may be more suggestive of desperation (especially for Lander) than strength.

In 1970, political scientist Edward C. Banfield wrote The Unheavenly City, an analysis of urban dysfunction. He argued that riots are caused by various factors: the number of young men in a community, the role of television news, the availability of school and work, and the criminal justice system’s lenience.

“But Banfield’s cleverest insights go beyond external causes to observe that riots are self-perpetuating, and that defending them can paradoxically reinforce them,” Charles Fain Lehman observes. “Rioting teaches the possibility of more rioting.”

Read Lehman’s take on why Banfield’s insights are especially relevant amid today’s anti-ICE protests.

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has held a long-standing antagonism toward Israel. In 2021, he identified himself as part of an “anti-Zionist movement,” and just this year, he declined to sign a resolution affirming Israel’s right to exist. “Mamdani has at times used his opposition to Israel as a political crutch, focusing more on the Jewish state than on the needs of New Yorkers,” Josh Appel writes.

Five years after the pandemic, New York City is thriving. Restaurants are busy, felony crime is down, and the number of private-sector jobs has surpassed pre-Covid figures. But the recovery has been uneven, Nicole Gelinas points out, with many New Yorkers—from small businesses to tenement owners—feeling the brunt of post-pandemic trends. She spoke to some of them for her article in the Spring issue, which you can read here.

Charles Fain Lehman, Ilya Shapiro, Renu Mukherjee, and Daniel Di Martino discuss the attack on two Minneapolis state lawmakers, the rallies against Trump, the military parade in D.C., and the New York City mayoral race.

“He should be pressed on his approach to discipline in NYC schools—an issue with resonance to various Asian constituencies.”

Photo credits: StockPlanets / E+ via Getty Images