The Chicago Journal

The Chicago Journal
The Chicago Journal

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III Challenges Readers to Move From Awareness to Action in They’re Trying to Make Us Slaves Again

The Chicago Journal Staff on October 3, 2026

By: Lennard James

Attorney, entrepreneur, military veteran and community advocate Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. is taking his advocacy beyond the courtroom with a book whose title is intentionally designed to command attention: They’re Trying to Make Us Slaves Again… And This Is How We Stop Them.

Released in 2026, the book is presented not simply as commentary on problems affecting Black communities, but as a proposed framework for addressing them. Reaves focuses on economic independence, education, community organization, family stability, civic participation and ownership, arguing that identifying longstanding problems means little without developing strategies to confront them.

The provocative use of the word “slaves” in the title is central to Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. message. The book does not claim that contemporary conditions are identical to the legal institution of chattel slavery. Rather, Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. uses the language as a warning about what he sees as modern forms of economic, political and institutional dependency and as a challenge to readers to examine who controls the resources, institutions and opportunities within their communities.

That distinction is important because the book ultimately focuses less on the title’s warning than on its second declaration: “And This Is How We Stop Them.”

For Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq., the answer begins with action.

His book addresses subjects including economic exclusion, educational disparities, political participation, family instability and institutional dependency. But rather than leaving readers with a catalog of grievances, Reaves advocates collective organization, financial empowerment, education, entrepreneurship and stronger community institutions.

That solution-oriented approach reflects Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. broader professional identity.

As an attorney, Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. has built a career around advocacy and the legal system. As an entrepreneur and community leader, he has also encountered economic and organizational challenges that can determine whether families and neighborhoods merely survive or build sustainable opportunities.

They’re Trying to Make Us Slaves Again brings those experiences into a single conversation.

A major theme throughout the project is ownership.

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. encourages readers to think about who owns businesses, develops property, controls capital and creates employment opportunities. His argument is that stronger communities require more than consumer spending; they require businesses, institutions and economic structures capable of circulating resources and creating opportunities within those communities.

Education represents another major pillar.

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. approach extends education beyond the classroom. Financial literacy, understanding civic institutions, learning how businesses operate and preparing younger generations for leadership are presented as essential components of long-term advancement.

The book also emphasizes unity.

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. argues that sustainable progress cannot depend exclusively on one attorney, elected official, pastor, entrepreneur, organization or community activist. Instead, he calls for cooperation among families, educators, churches, business owners, civic leaders and community organizations.

That philosophy is reflected in SONU Save Our Neighborhoods United; an organization connected to the principles outlined in the book. Reaves describe SONU as a vehicle for moving from discussion toward implementation through education, mobilization, leadership development and community planning.

The book also introduces Project 2035, an initiative framed around measurable progress over the coming decade in areas including wealth creation, education, business ownership, civic participation and community development.

That long-term perspective separates the project from a message built solely around immediate frustration.

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. is essentially asking readers to think generationally.

What happens when families begin planning not only for the next paycheck, but for the next generation? What changes when entrepreneurship becomes part of a community’s economic strategy? What happens when young people are taught financial literacy alongside traditional academics? And what becomes possible when institutions work together instead of operating independently?

Those questions form the intellectual foundation of the book.

The cover provides an equally forceful visual statement. A broken chain represents Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. central metaphor: breaking barriers and patterns that he believes restrict economic and social progress. The symbolism reinforces his argument that meaningful freedom requires preparation, discipline, organization and ownership.

The book is also intended to provoke conversation.

Some readers may agree strongly with Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. analysis, while others may challenge parts of his framing or proposed solutions. But the provocative title virtually guarantees one thing: it invites people to ask questions.

And Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. appears prepared for that discussion.

The larger objective is not simply to convince readers that problems exist. The book asks what individuals and institutions are prepared to do about the challenges they identify.

That makes They’re Trying to Make Us Slaves Again as much a call to responsibility as a warning.

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. challenges business owners to consider how they can create opportunities. He asks community leaders to think beyond individual organizations. He encourages families to consider wealth-building and financial preparation. He emphasizes education and leadership development for younger generations. And he argues that political and civic participation must extend beyond simply paying attention during election season.

Ultimately, Attorney Henry E. Reaves III is using his book to advance a straightforward proposition: awareness without implementation produces limited change.

The title may be what initially captures attention, but the substance of the book is centered on what comes afterward organization, education, ownership, unity and measurable action.

They’re Trying to Make Us Slaves Again… And This Is How We Stop Them is therefore not intended to leave readers simply angry about the past or fearful about the future.

Attorney Henry E. Reaves III, Esq. wants them to think about what they can build next.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and editorial purposes only. References to financial literacy, investing, banking, credit, insurance, homeownership, entrepreneurship, or wealth-building concepts are not intended as financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Readers should consult qualified professionals regarding their individual circumstances.

Cleared Is Not Approved: A New Knee Laser Trial and the Questions Ocoee Patients Should Ask

The Chicago Journal Staff on October 3, 2026

A randomized trial published Sept. 8, 2026, found that high-intensity laser plus home exercise improved knee osteoarthritis scores far more than therapeutic ultrasound plus the same exercise. The result is promising, and it is also a useful case study in how to read a laser therapy claim before paying for a package.

By Alena Wiese

A person with a stiff, aching knee may start to notice the same phrases in ads and mailers: drug-free, FDA cleared, a set number of sessions. The price of a treatment package can look reasonable next to another year of skipping walks and taking the stairs one step at a time. Before signing anything, that person faces a consumer question as much as a medical one: what exactly is being promised, and what evidence stands behind it?

Here is the short answer. Therapy lasers are cleared, not approved, by the FDA, and the research behind them is growing but uneven, so the claims worth trusting are ones tied to a clear diagnosis, a specific condition and a measurable plan. A new knee trial shows both the promise and the fine print.

On Sept. 8, 2026, Lasers in Medical Science published a randomized controlled trial from Siriraj Hospital at Mahidol University in Bangkok. Among 66 adults with knee osteoarthritis, those who received high-intensity laser along with home exercise improved by 40.0 points on a standard knee osteoarthritis pain, stiffness and function questionnaire after 12 weeks, compared with 8.2 points for those who received therapeutic ultrasound with the same exercise.

What does “FDA cleared” mean for a laser device?

“FDA cleared” means a device was found substantially equivalent to a device already legally on the market, not that the FDA reviewed proof that it treats a particular condition. According to the FDA, a 510(k) is a premarket submission showing that a new device is as safe and effective as a legally marketed “predicate.” Premarket approval, or PMA, is a separate pathway, used for devices that are not substantially equivalent to anything already on the market.

Source: Premarket Notification 510(k), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, August 2024. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/premarket-submissions-selecting-and-preparing-correct-submission/premarket-notification-510k

Many therapy lasers have been cleared under the FDA category for infrared lamps. Federal regulation defines that device as one that “emits energy at infrared frequencies (approximately 700 nanometers to 50,000 nanometers) to provide topical heating,” and places it in Class II. One cleared therapy laser in the FDA database, for example, lists indications built around elevating tissue temperature for temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain. That is a narrower claim than an ad promising to rebuild a joint.

Source: 21 CFR 890.5500 Infrared lamp, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, accessed September 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-890/subpart-F/section-890.5500

What did the new knee laser trial find?

The trial found that high-intensity laser with exercise produced larger short-term gains than ultrasound with exercise. Researchers randomly assigned 66 adults with moderate knee osteoarthritis to one of the two treatments, twice a week for six weeks, 12 sessions in all. Everyone followed the same daily home exercise program. The laser was a 1064-nanometer Nd:YAG device used in two phases each session, a pulsed phase and a continuous 12-watt phase.

On the WOMAC, a widely used knee osteoarthritis questionnaire, the adjusted difference between groups was 27.7 points in favor of laser (95 percent confidence interval, 16.5 to 39.0; p < 0.001), well above the 10-point change the researchers set as the minimum that matters to patients. Every secondary measure, including pain, other knee function scores and quality of life, also favored laser at 12 weeks. The laser group held its gains through follow-up, while the ultrasound group gradually lost ground. The trial was funded by a research unit at Siriraj Hospital.

Source: Efficacy of high-intensity laser therapy versus ultrasound therapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial, Lasers in Medical Science, September 2026. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10103-026-05019-8

What does this trial not tell us?

The trial does not show how laser compares with no added treatment or a sham device, because the comparison was ultrasound. It ran at a single center, followed people for 12 weeks, and enrolled mostly women: 87.9 percent of the laser group and 100 percent of the ultrasound group, a limitation the authors themselves flag. It was also registered after the fact, in October 2025, rather than before enrollment began.

It tested one device, one protocol and one condition. Results for knees do not automatically apply to backs, necks or feet, and results from a specific 12-session protocol do not automatically apply to a different number of visits or a different machine. What the trial does offer consumers is a model of what good evidence looks like: a defined condition, a named device and dose, a validated outcome and a clear threshold for what counts as meaningful improvement.

What questions should a patient ask before paying for laser therapy?

A patient should ask questions that tie the treatment to a diagnosis, a device and a way to measure results. A practical list:

  • What is my diagnosis, and how was it made? Laser should follow an evaluation, not replace one.
  • What device is this, and what is its FDA clearance? A provider should be able to name the device. Clearance records are searchable in the FDA’s public 510(k) database.
  • What does the research say for my condition? The new trial studied knee osteoarthritis. Evidence for one body part does not transfer automatically to another.
  • How many sessions, at what total cost, and what happens if there is no improvement? Get the full package price and any refund terms in writing.
  • How will progress be measured, and when does treatment stop? Validated questionnaires, such as the WOMAC used in the new trial, are a good sign.
  • What else is in the plan? Both groups in the trial exercised daily. Laser was an addition, not a replacement.

Some advertising language is itself a warning sign: “FDA approved laser,” “cures,” “guaranteed results,” or pressure to prepay a large package on the first visit.

Where does an Ocoee clinic fit into a careful decision?

A careful decision starts with an evaluation. ReliefNow® Laser Ocoee, at 288 Moore Rd. in Ocoee (407-877-7117), serves Ocoee, Winter Garden and Windermere in west Orange County, with chiropractors Dr. Jeffrey N. Shebovsky and Dr. Kyle Learn. The clinic offers the ReliefNow® Regenerative Medical Laser™, an FDA-cleared Class IV laser, alongside non-surgical spinal decompression, regenerative medicine, focused shockwave, chiropractic care and customized rehabilitation. That mix fits the trial’s lesson that laser belongs inside a broader plan that includes exercise.

Dr. Shebovsky founded Orange Wellness in 1994, has more than 30 years of clinical experience and holds Florida chiropractic license CH6499. He earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree with honors from New York Chiropractic College and has authored two books on chiropractic care and laser therapy.

For knee pain, conservative care is generally considered when there are no warning signs. A hot, red, swollen knee, fever, a knee that suddenly gives way or locks, inability to bear weight, calf pain and swelling, or pain after a fall calls for medical or emergency evaluation first. When conservative care does proceed, progress should be tracked with a pain score, a validated function questionnaire and simple tests such as a timed walk, and the plan should be revisited if those numbers stall.

Local demand is growing. U.S. Census Bureau estimates put Ocoee at 51,932 residents as of July 2025, up from 47,295 in the 2020 census, which means many newer residents are choosing care providers for the first time.

What is the takeaway for a careful consumer?

The takeaway is to treat a laser therapy offer the way one would treat any significant purchase: read the claim closely, ask what stands behind it, and decide how success will be measured before money changes hands. The September trial adds real weight to the case for high-intensity laser in knee osteoarthritis. It also shows that “FDA cleared” is a starting point for good questions, not the answer to them.

Dr. Jeffrey N. Shebovsky, DC | ReliefNow® Laser Ocoee | 288 Moore Rd, Ocoee, FL 34761 | 407-877-7117 | https://reliefnowlaser.com/providers/ocoee/

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any treatment program.

The Junior Job Question in the Age of Agentic AI

The Chicago Journal Staff on October 3, 2026

The first draft used to be a junior’s job. Someone two years out of school got the memo assignment, the research summary, the intake questionnaire, the boilerplate contract, the first pass at the code. It was tedious work, and it was also how people learned the trade. Partners and managers marked it up, sent it back, and slowly the junior turned into someone who could be trusted with the second draft, then the whole matter.

Agentic AI now does a competent version of that first draft in minutes. That is a productivity story for the firm and an awkward one for the person who used to hold the pen. The question is not whether the work still needs doing. The question is what happens to the on-ramp when the on-ramp is the part the software is best at.

The First Draft Was More Than a Draft

Entry-level knowledge work has typically done two jobs at once. It produced a deliverable the firm could bill for, and it trained the person producing it. A first-year analyst building a model learned the business by building the model. A junior associate reviewing discovery learned what mattered by seeing what showed up.

When an agent handles the mechanical layer, only the first of those jobs is obviously covered. The deliverable arrives, often faster and cleaner than a tired 24-year-old would have produced it. Most of this only works, though, if the agent is embedded in the firm’s own systems, retrieval on the firm’s documents, connectors into the systems of record, a review interface that shows the reasoning. Teams that lack the engineering bench for that work often bring in outside help, whether an internal platform group or Chicago custom AI developers who have built these plumbing layers before.

The Data Is Starting to Show It

This is not a hunch anymore. Research from the Stanford Digital Economy Lab found that employment among workers ages 22 to 25 in highly AI-exposed occupations sits roughly 19% below where it would be if it had tracked employment among similarly aged workers in less-exposed jobs. Older workers in the same occupations are not seeing the same drop. Whatever is happening is concentrated at the entry point.

The pattern lines up with how firms actually adopt these tools. When agentic systems substitute for human tasks, headcount for those tasks softens. When they complement the person doing the work, employment holds up or grows. The trouble for juniors is that the tasks a two-year-old career can handle are, almost by definition, the tasks most amenable to substitution.

Adoption Is Faster Than the Org Chart

The speed matters. Anthropic’s own tracking of how its models are used in the economy shows automation-style usage now edging past augmentation-style usage for the first time, meaning more prompts look like “do this task” than “help me do this task.” Read the Anthropic Economic Index for the underlying breakdown; the shift is not enormous yet, but the direction is clear and it is recent.

Corporate adoption is moving on a similar clock. Agentic pilots that were slideware in 2024 are running in production in 2026, and the org charts have not caught up. Most companies still hire, promote, and train on the assumption that the bottom of the pyramid does the first pass. If the pyramid loses its bottom row, the shape has to change.

What Firms Should Actually Do About It

The wrong response is to freeze junior hiring and declare the problem solved by attrition. That saves money for a year and starves the firm of mid-level talent for a decade. The better response is to redesign what a junior does so the role survives contact with the agent. A few practical moves are worth naming:

  • Hire juniors to supervise agents, not compete with them. Treat the first-year role as a reviewer, editor, and prompt designer for agent output. That is a real skill, it produces real judgment, and it maps onto how the work will actually get done.
  • Rebuild the feedback loop. When the agent writes the first draft, someone senior still has to explain why the second draft is different. Bake that critique into the workflow instead of assuming juniors will absorb it by osmosis.
  • Widen the aperture on backgrounds. If the technical first draft is commoditized, the differentiator is judgment, communication, and domain feel.
  • Instrument what the agent does. Log the prompts, the outputs, and the human edits. That log is the training material the next cohort of juniors will actually learn from.

The Path Up Has to Be Redrawn

The uncomfortable truth is that the traditional apprenticeship model was subsidized by work that was mostly rote. Firms tolerated the cost of a first-year because the first-year did things a partner did not want to do. Agents now do those things faster and cheaper, and the subsidy is gone. If firms want the next generation of seniors, they may have to pay for the apprenticeship directly instead of hiding it inside billable work.

That is a harder conversation than a headcount decision. It is also the one worth having now, before a cohort of would-be juniors quietly routes around the industries that no longer have a first rung.

Illinois Data Center Study Projects 121,000 Jobs, but Only 2,800 Would Be Permanent

The Chicago Journal Staff 2 on October 3, 2026

A study released October 1 by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois Project for Middle Class Renewal projects that $57 billion in new data center investment through 2035 would support 121,000 jobs across the state. Only about 2,800 of those would be direct, permanent positions. Residential electric bills could rise about $12 a month.

Key Takeaways

  • Most of the 121,000 projected jobs are temporary construction roles or jobs created indirectly. Consumer spending alone accounts for 41,751 of them.
  • Operating data centers could generate nearly $300 million a year in property tax revenue, which could lower local residential property taxes by 3% to 10% if no abatements are granted.
  • The study’s mid-level scenario adds 6.5 gigawatts of electricity demand to the Illinois grid by 2035 and raises overall electric system costs by almost 10%.
  • Grid operator PJM forecasts 10.7 gigawatts of new data center demand by 2035 in ComEd’s northern Illinois territory alone, above the study’s statewide estimate.
  • Illinois already has more than 240 planned or active data centers, about 19 per million residents.
  • The report puts forward 10 policy proposals, including tighter qualifications for state tax incentives and a ban on local property tax breaks.

Study Separates Construction Jobs From Permanent Payrolls

The 121,000 figure needs some context. Data centers employ large crews while they are being built and very few people once they are running. The Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) study shows that clearly: of the projected jobs, about 2,800 are direct, permanent positions. Divided across the full $57 billion in projected investment, that comes to roughly $20.2 million in developer spending for each long-term job, a calculation Capitol News Illinois noted in its coverage.

The construction work is not minor, though. The report found that 13 data center projects in 2020 and 2021 created 8,000 construction jobs paying more than $100,000. For the Chicago region’s building trades, a decade of data center construction would mean years of steady, well-paid work, even if the finished buildings need few people to run them.

The 41,751 consumer-driven jobs come from that spending moving through the wider economy, from restaurant workers near job sites to factories making construction materials. ILEPI is a labor-backed research organization, and its economist Frank Manzo has argued that a moratorium would push this investment to neighboring states. Critics at Good Jobs First, a national group that opposes corporate subsidies, counter that public incentives should be tied to lasting employment rather than temporary construction booms.

Property Tax Revenue Depends on Local Abatement Decisions

The study’s property tax findings may matter most for Chicago-area suburbs. Once operating, data centers could add nearly $300 million a year to local tax bases across Illinois. Researchers estimate that could reduce residential property taxes by 3% to 10%, but only where local governments do not offer abatements.

The report uses DeKalb County as an example. In 2024, a large data center there paid $31 million in property taxes. That year, average property taxes in the county rose about 2%, compared with about 6% statewide. Robert Bruno, the University of Illinois professor who co-authored the study, described data center tax revenue as a sizable and reliable source of school funding. He also said each community should decide for itself whether to pursue it.

Abatements change the math. Because Illinois limits how much local governments can raise property taxes in a single year, tax breaks for data centers can wipe out much of the relief homeowners would otherwise see. The report recommends banning local property tax breaks for data centers so that more of the revenue reaches residential taxpayers.

Northern Illinois Ratepayers Face the Sharpest Energy Questions

The report’s energy findings matter most in northern Illinois. Its mid-level scenario estimates that average residential electric bills would rise about $12 a month, or about $150 a year, as data centers add 6.5 gigawatts of demand statewide by 2035.

Other forecasts put demand higher. PJM, the regional grid operator that manages power in northeastern Illinois, projects data center demand in ComEd’s service territory alone will grow by 10.7 gigawatts by 2035, though not every proposed project will be built. The rest of Illinois is served by the MISO grid, where peak demand across 15 states is expected to rise about 35% by 2035. The Citizens Utility Board has warned that higher electric bills take money out of household budgets that would otherwise be spent at local businesses.

That gap between forecasts is the main uncertainty for Chicago households. The study’s $12 monthly figure is a midpoint estimate. Whether actual bills end up near it or well above it depends on how much of the proposed data center pipeline gets built and how the costs of grid upgrades are divided.

Report Lands as Springfield Weighs Data Center Rules

The study comes at a decision point. Lawmakers did not pass data center regulations in the spring session, and the state’s data center tax incentive program is currently paused. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity estimates incentives given to data centers had exceeded $660 million in value as of 2025.

The report’s 10 proposals include raising the investment and job thresholds needed to qualify for state tax breaks, shortening how long incentives last, and banning nondisclosure agreements between developers and local governments. Several proposals line up with the POWER Act, which would require data centers to secure their own renewable energy, obtain water-use permits, and file transparency reports. Supporters hope the bill will move during the fall veto session. Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club of Illinois have argued for mandatory standards rather than incentives alone.

For Chicago, the question is not whether data centers arrive. More than 240 are already planned or operating statewide. The study’s value is in laying out what the region would gain and what it would pay.

FAQs

How many jobs will Illinois data centers create?

The ILEPI and University of Illinois study projects 121,000 jobs from $57 billion in data center investment through 2035. About 2,800 of those would be direct, permanent positions. Most of the rest are temporary construction jobs or jobs created indirectly.

Will data centers raise electric bills in Illinois?

The study’s mid-level scenario estimates an increase of about $12 a month, or $150 a year, for average residential customers. Other grid forecasts suggest the impact could be higher depending on how many projects are built.

Do data centers lower property taxes?

The study estimates operating data centers could generate nearly $300 million a year in property tax revenue statewide. That could reduce residential property taxes by 3% to 10% where local governments do not grant tax abatements.

How many data centers are in Illinois?

Illinois has more than 240 planned or active data centers, about 19 for every million residents.

Who produced the Illinois data center report?

The Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois Project for Middle Class Renewal co-authored the study, which was released October 1, 2026.