FROM PARIS TO SPRINGFIELD: WHAT SOCIALISTS WANT, WHAT YOU COULD LOSE

October 25, 2026•10 min read

PARIS IS BURNING. LOOK CLOSER TO HOME.

The unrest in France may feel distant. The political ambitions surrounding it should not. From Chicago to Springfield, organizations seeking a socialist future are pursuing influence over policing, education, private enterprise, and the institutions Americans depend on every day.

By Staff Writer | October 25, 2026

You watch the footage from France, see smoke rising above the streets, and wonder how another demonstration reached this point. Then the coverage moves on, leaving another confrontation, another explanation, and another argument about who is responsible.

But a question can get lost between the images and the commentary: What do the organizations surrounding these demonstrations actually want?

It is a question worth asking here. While Americans watch events overseas, socialist organizations are working to elect candidates in Illinois, influence school boards, and shape decisions about policing and public spending. In Springfield, some of those relationships involve officials and activists whose names readers already know. The authority they seek reaches into your neighborhood, your livelihood, and your children’s education.

Start with what investigative journalist Asra Q. Nomani found around France’s protest movement. Her investigation identified 54 organizations, including organizers, supporters, and international amplifiers. Sixteen were student or youth groups. The broader network included communist parties, revolutionary socialist organizations, labor unions, Palestine solidarity groups, and media outlets.

That is a considerably larger political environment than students demanding better classroom conditions. Nomani’s reporting described organizations connecting complaints about education and living costs to a broader struggle against capitalism, government austerity, policing, and military spending. Someone can march because a school needs repairs while an organization alongside that person is campaigning to replace the economic system.

France’s spending record adds important context. Government expenditure amounted to approximately 57 percent of the country’s economic output in 2025, according to French national statistics. That enormous public commitment has not ended disputes about affordability, services, and priorities. For organizations already arguing that capitalism must be replaced, those disputes offer an opportunity to say that another funding increase cannot solve the underlying problem.

The organizing also extends beyond France. Nomani reported that 28 communist and socialist youth organizations across 12 European countries are preparing to hold strikes and demonstrations on November 20 under the slogan “Fight for Our Future, Not Their Wars.” Their announced plans include assemblies, blockades, and occupations.

Her reporting shows how the message crosses the Atlantic. Nomani identified Tricontinental and the New York-based outlet BreakThrough News as international amplifiers connected in her investigation to Neville Roy Singham, an American-born technology entrepreneur living in Shanghai. CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans, Singham’s wife, made the American connection explicit: while promoting a campaign against U.S. military spending, she urged people to look at demonstrations in France, Spain, and India.

For Americans watching the unrest as a distant problem, that appeal brings it closer. Events overseas are being presented as examples to encourage participation here. Understanding what those appeals serve means examining the political objectives behind them.

At home, the Democratic Socialists of America provides a clear account of its ambitions in its national program, “Workers Deserve More.”

“Draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic.”
Democratic Socialists of America, “Workers Deserve More.”

The program calls for abolishing the Senate and replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by, and subordinate to, Congress. That would change the balance among institutions that currently exercise separate powers. If you opposed the governing majority or wanted to challenge its actions in court, the independence of those institutions would matter considerably.

The program also advocates public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries. Workers, investors, and customers deserve to understand who would make decisions, how losses would be covered, and how people could challenge management when public authorities controlled the service they needed.

These proposals concern who exercises power over everyday life. The policing objective makes that question especially immediate. DSA’s program describes redirecting police funding as steps toward a goal it identifies explicitly.

“Fully abolishing the police and prison system.”
Democratic Socialists of America, “Workers Deserve More.”

Imagine calling 911 because someone is threatening your family. In that moment, you are counting on trained officers to arrive quickly and stop the danger. That expectation is what makes a proposal to abolish the police so consequential. Before candidates supporting that goal gain authority over public safety budgets, families deserve a clear explanation of what would replace the protection they depend on.

Chicago DSA’s local platform shows some of the changes it favors, including unarmed personnel enforcing minor traffic violations and expanded alternatives to armed police response for certain crises. The practical question is how those assignments would be made when a dispatcher has incomplete information or an encounter suddenly becomes violent. Residents need to know when officers would intervene and how the proposed changes would protect both the public and responders.

Those questions belong in election campaigns because the organization is working to elect people who could influence the answers. In August, Chicago DSA announced a six-candidate “Socialist Slate” for the 2027 City Council elections: incumbents Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, Anthony Quezada, and Angela Clay, alongside challengers Raheem Uqdah and Kalen Luciano. Its long-term objective appears on its own website.

“Our horizon is a complete rupture with capitalism.”
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, “About Us.”

Council members decide police budgets, housing regulations, development approvals, and taxes. Those votes are where an organization’s ambitions can become conditions residents live under. School board elections offer another route to influence, with consequences that reach directly into family decisions.

Chicago DSA’s school board voting guide explicitly opposes charter school expansion and urges supporters to defeat expansion and its backers. If you are seeking another public school option for your child, that position would restrict the growth of an alternative you might otherwise choose. The guide also evaluates candidates on closures, spending, and restrictions on generative artificial intelligence.

The parental role extends beyond choosing a school. Imagine learning that your child has been using a different name and pronouns at school while you remained unaware. Chicago Public Schools’ published guidelines direct staff not to disclose that information to parents without the student’s permission, unless authorized by the district’s Law Department.

The district frames that restriction as protecting student privacy. Concerned parents may see it as excluding them from a development they need to understand to support their child. The policy places a significant decision in school officials’ hands: when parents are included and what happens when their judgment differs from that of school personnel.

DSA’s advocacy extends into related disputes. In a statement addressing transgender rights, it opposed compelled disclosure tied to young people receiving gender-related care and opposed restrictions on transgender athletes. Those positions make parental involvement and athletics legitimate subjects for candidates seeking its support.

For a family whose daughter competes in school sports, the debate involves eligibility rules, competitive fairness, and opportunities to participate. Illinois Department of Human Rights guidance supports participation according to gender identity, including transgender girls participating on girls’ teams. Its facilities guidance also supports access to restrooms and locker rooms according to gender identity, with more private alternatives offered where possible to individuals requesting them.

Parents deserve clear answers about how candidates would address inclusion, privacy, and fairness, as well as which decisions require notification or consent. They should know what information may be withheld and how disagreements can be challenged. Protecting students from mistreatment and respecting parents’ responsibilities require concrete policies, particularly when families and officials disagree.

These are examples of what political influence over a public institution means in practice. The same demand for clarity belongs in Springfield.

Here, FactsFirstus.com has reported on volunteer assistance for Ald. Jennifer Notariano involving Land of Lincoln Democratic Socialists of America activists, Ald. Roy Williams Jr.’s appearances at socialist events, and public support from activist Ken Pacha. Those relationships bring the question directly to City Hall: Which parts of the organization’s agenda do these officials support, and how does that support influence their decisions?

Police spending offers a place to examine their positions. In recent coverage, FactsFirstus.com reported on Notariano’s questioning of an armored vehicle purchase and Williams’ criticism of the mayor during a discussion in which police officials described damage to more than 20 vehicles. The city also addressed whether supporting information had been provided to council members.

Against DSA’s published policing agenda, residents deserve to know whether these officials support adequate police resources with different purchasing priorities or favor a broader transfer of responsibilities and funding away from police. Their explanations and votes can establish where they stand. Political associations invite questions; the officials’ own commitments should supply the answers.

City councils and school boards give organizations opportunities to influence budgets and policy. Governors exercise a different kind of authority, particularly when state government challenges Washington. That distinction connects this local discussion to the recording recently reported by FactsFirstus.com, concerning an alleged proposal to turn a confrontation with federal authority into a larger struggle over who should govern.

Writer and researcher Jennica Pounds describes that possibility in allegations drawn from an archive of transcripts and recordings. According to her account, sustained confrontations involving DSA-aligned activists could push toward presidential invocation of the Insurrection Act, followed by coordinated efforts to challenge federal legitimacy and elevate Democratic governors as alternative centers of authority.

Pounds identifies United Democracy Alliance as an alleged coordinating organization within a broader protest ecosystem involving No Kings, Indivisible, and 50501.

The Illinois connection comes through the recording described in FactsFirstus.com’s recent report. A speaker discussing an alleged options memorandum presented to Democratic governors said Massachusetts declined while California and Illinois expressed interest. The account identified Gov. JB Pritzker. His office should explain what proposal reached Illinois officials, who responded, and what that response was.

That allegation concerns something beyond winning an appropriation or changing a local policy. It raises a question about whether organizers sought to use a dispute with Washington to challenge federal authority itself. The governor’s communications and actions would establish his position, alongside the separate public record of socialist organizations seeking office and advocating constitutional change.

For Illinois residents, the practical thread running through this story is authority. Who will exercise it? Over which decisions? With what restraints? Those questions apply to police protection, school policies, public spending, and the institutions available when citizens want to challenge their government.

You may agree with a candidate about wages or housing and disagree sharply about abolishing the police, limiting school options, or changing the relationship between parents and schools. You deserve to hear those differences before voting. Democratic voters deserve that clarity as much as Republican and independent voters do.

France’s unrest shows organizations connecting immediate grievances to a broader political struggle. In Illinois, socialist organizations are pursuing representation through elections and publicly stating the changes they want. The circumstances differ, but the ambitions deserve examination while voters still have the opportunity to question the people asking to carry them into office.

Look beyond the reassuring promise. Read the program. Ask the candidate which parts will come through the door with them. The answer matters to the parent who expects to be informed, the resident who needs protection, and the worker who depends on stable institutions.

Paris is burning. Look closer to home, while the choices are still yours to make.

Official and Primary Sources

INSEE, French national statistics, government expenditure and public finances for 2025.www.insee.fr
Democratic Socialists of America, “Workers Deserve More,” including proposals concerning constitutional restructuring, public ownership, policing, and prisons.program.dsausa.org
Democratic Socialists of America, “Justice for Trans People Requires Power,” addressing disclosure requirements, health care, and transgender athletes.www.dsausa.org
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, “About Us,” describing its goals and organizing methods.chicagodsa.org
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, local platform, including traffic enforcement and alternative crisis response proposals.chicagodsa.org
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, “Announcing Chicago DSA’s 2027 Endorsements.”chicagodsa.org
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, “2026 Chicago School Board Voting Guide.”chicagodsa.org
Chicago Public Schools, published guidelines regarding transgender and gender-nonconforming students, including disclosure to parents.www.cps.edu
Illinois Department of Human Rights, non-regulatory guidance concerning gender identity, school athletics, and facilities.dhr.illinois.gov