I am delighted to announce the addition of another weekend contributors, Cara Gallagher, to our crew. Cara teaches government, politics, and law to high school students at The Latin School of Chicago. She is a wonderful writer will bring a new and fresh perspective to RIL. We have benefited from writers — both as contributors and commenters — from wide social, demographic, and professional spectrum. One of the most interesting aspects of this blog is to see how differently people view the same issues or images. While our discussions are often passionate, we strive to maintain a civil and diverse discussion. I believe Cara will be an exciting new voice as a commentator.

I met Cara while speaking to her classes by Skype on presidential power. I am a graduate from Latin School of Chicago and I was impressed by Cara’s knowledge and analysis of the leading Supreme Court cases. Her students proved to be some of the very best that I have encountered on the high school level. She has a background in both high school teaching as well as media communications that gives her a unique insight on contemporary issues.

Cara began her studies into law and legal education in college at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She has worked as a paralegal during the summers. Since 2010, Cara has spent every summer in programs with Georgetown, Stanford, and Yale Law Schools expanding on her legal education. Cara served as the Senior Education Fellow for C-SPAN in 2013 and spent June of 2013 and 2014 reporting for the network on the U.S. Supreme Court. She’s published several entries on police procedure in CQ Press’ Encyclopedia of the 4th Amendment, and in the fall of 2013 she merged her passions for both education and the law by creating http://www.SupremeBystandr.com. SupremeBystandr is a website and podcast for students, educators, and Supreme Court fans. Cara bleeds Cubbie blue.

I know, many will note that this is yet another Chicago connection and a Cubbie on the blog. While I readily admit a Chicago bias, I truly did not know Cara’s baseball affinity until she sent me her bio for posting. Honestly. She could have been . . . gulp . . . a White Sox fan.

Welcome again Cara and thanks for joining our weekend contributors.