About LyLena D. Estabine.

LyLena D. Estabine is a writer, author, and public speaker. Her work advocates for institutions that promote freedom for individuals to create lives of purpose and meaning, and she encourages the people who live within them.

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As a Senior Policy Analyst at the Illinois Policy Institute, LyLena covers pension reform, property taxes, housing policy, and land use. Her commentary has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, and RealClearMarkets. She has discussed her research on television, radio, and podcasts across the nation.

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She is a graduate of Harvard University, where her senior thesis on Chicago housing, ownership, and trust won the Hoopes Prize, the most prestigious award for undergraduate research at Harvard. In Fall 2026, she will begin her legal education at Stanford Law School.

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LyLena is the author of Among these are Life, a poetry collection about personhood and human dignity, and writes Room to Build, a newsletter on the law and institutions that shape whether people can live meaningful lives. Her Catholic faith informs all that she does and drives her passion for protecting human dignity and freedom.

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When she isn't writing, she's sharing big ideas to new audiences on TikTok  and Instagram.