{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreibr6hyazi6lsncjsum2xfdnllwuxmlvuqveswvch52xk6ttrpuipu",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:ha7wpngv4f2qwrk5hta4ktbb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlf4lvcnbrv2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreiabxtd4ucfodsnpjzyjynepbxrsd3bji4bp4y6qw2oyboeaurgzeu"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 193371
  },
  "path": "/news/2026/05/08/aoc-criticizes-the-organization-of-oligarchy-in-the-u-s-while-visiting-uchicago",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-09T00:54:02.576Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) emphasized the importance of the working class and criticized a system that allows billionaires to flourish in a talk she gave Friday night at the University of Chicago Friday.</p><p>The New York City progressive began her 90-minute conversation with political strategist David Axelrod by addressing a comment she made on Thursday that “you can’t earn a billion dollars” legitimately. The five-term congresswoman offered clarification by saying she opposes systems that create billionaires, not individual people.</p><p>“When we criticize the system, the system has gotten so concentrated that [billionaires] take it as criticism of themselves,” Ocasio-Cortez said.</p><p>University of Chicago law student Mark Maddock, 26, said he hopes the congresswoman will run for president in two years.</p><p>“Everything's so rough and everyone's a bit downtrodden with the political climate around us right now, so having her here kind of feels like a preview of some hope to come,” Maddock said. “I'm from a rural part of Illinois where our representation doesn't really give as much of a damn about us, as she seems to.”</p><p>When asked about her 2028 ambitions for the U.S. Senate or presidency, Ocasio-Cortex said: \"Presidents come and go. Senate house seats, elected officials come and go, but single-parent health care is forever.\"</p><p>Ocasio-Cortez condemned the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision striking down a Democratic gerrymandered voting map that state voters passed last month.</p><p>“We are in an era of a very real constitutional crises about the limits of power,” she said. “I don’t think we should take this siting down.”</p><p>Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court tightened restrictions on a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits voting practices that result in minority groups having “less opportunity” than others when electing representatives. In its 6-3 decision divided on party lines, the court said the provision only applies to instances of strong evidence that a racial group was discriminated against, not in cases where officials merely want to create more majority-minority districts.</p><p> Ocasio-Cortez said she would “absolutely” support further gerrymandering in her state.</p><p>Between commenting on political issues, Ocasio-Cortez shared personal stories of her family and work life before she became a “commodified symbol” as a famous politician.</p><p>When she spoke about her interest in studying science before she decided not to go to medical school for economic reasons, Axelrod told Ocasio-Cortez she is \"kind of a nerd” and “should feel at home at the University of Chicago.”</p><p>Friday night's conversation was part of a series coordinated by the University of Chicago’s nonpartisan Institute of Politics, which hosted former Vice President Mike Pence last week.</p>",
  "title": "AOC criticizes the 'organization of oligarchy' in the U.S. while visiting UChicago",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-09T01:05:32.243Z"
}