Illinois’ political world was rocked on March 2, when U.S. Attorney John Lausch announced a 22-count federal racketeering indictment against former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. The charges allege Madigan oversaw a criminal enterprise to preserve and enhance his political power and finances, reward allies for their loyalty, and generate income for members and associates through illegal activities. Based on other indictments and reporting, it was clear Madigan had been in the feds’ crosshairs for some time, but it was never clear when they might strike… or even if they could. For so long, Madigan had been seen as un-topple-able, or too savvy to say or do anything that could get himself in trouble. Madigan, meanwhile, has maintained his innocence. Here to discuss all things Madigan is Chicago Tribune reporter Ray Long, author of a new book: The House that Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois’ Velvet Hammer. Long is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist who has covered the state Capitol, City Hall, the courts and the county, two governors who went to prison and a state senator who went to the White House. Long has covered Springfield for 40 years. The book offers a play-by-play of how Madigan accumulated power over his decades-long career: how he helped keep the Chicago White Sox from moving to Florida, a sneak-attack tax hike under the name Operation Cobra, and the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich. It also explores how Madigan pushed job recommendations at Metra, how his position impacted the political aspirations of his daughter, Lisa Madigan, and the beginning of the end of his tenure atop the House. Long talks about all of that, as well as if he believes the Chicago Machine is now, effectively, dead; the difficult task the feds have in proving the difference between routine politics and a criminal offense; and what really motivated the Velvet Hammer.

March in Cook County this year marks the official start of primary season and, for many, the due date for first installment property taxes. We talk both primary and property taxes with Larry Rogers Jr. In his private life, Rogers is a successful trial attorney at Power Rogers LLP. In public life, he’s a Democrat and the current longest-serving Commissioner on Cook County’s three-member Board of Review. That’s the second stop for property owners looking to appeal their assessments and hopefully knock down their tax bill. As of this recording, Rogers is free and clear to win another term – nobody’s running against him in the primary, nor have any Republicans filed who might take him on in the November general election. And that gives him a lot more space to voice his criticisms. And wow, does he. In this episode, Rogers lets loose on a long-simmering tension between his office and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi. And he gets awfully close to endorsing Kaegi’s likely primary opponent, Kari Steele. He says Kaegi’s dropped the ball implementing a new computer system to help with assessments, that bills are likely to be months late this year and that, overall, Kaegi has fallen short of his promises to reverse spiraling values in the South suburbs in Rogers’ district. We spoke with Kaegi on this podcast back in December – please check that episode out for additional context and insights. We’ll also have Kaegi’s response to some of Rogers’ points on our website – that’s chicagobusiness.com/juice. On this episode, Rogers also addresses scandals at the Board of Review, including an FBI investigation involving alleged bribes for lower valuations, a report from the county’s inspector general warning about improper political influence, and why Rogers is okay taking donations from property tax attorneys.

Chicago is in its second week without an indoor mask mandate or vaccine requirement to get into certain bars and restaurants. COVID cases are under 200 per day. Our test positivity is under one percent - a number we haven’t seen since last summer. We’re in a new era of the pandemic, officials have said, one in which we learn how to live with the virus and work to keep healthcare settings from getting overwhelmed. But at this time two years ago, the city was only testing about a dozen people per day. Reporters were scrambling to understand the personal details of each and every new positive case. This week, our guest is Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, who was confirmed by the City Council in January of 2020, weeks before the first COVID mitigations swept the city and state. Governor J.B. Pritzker declared a state of emergency on March 9, closed bars and restaurants on March 16, and barred gatherings of more than 50 people a day later. Dr. Arwady

discusses how much politics infused the debate around pandemic response, how history will remember Chicago’s handling of the virus, and her department’s controversial equity play, limiting vaccine access to the city’s hardest hit areas.

This week, to close out Black History Month, we’re talking Bronzeville. The Black Metropolis south of the Loop along the lakefront has a rich history of culture and entrepreneurship. It’s been home to great writers, artists, musicians, politicians and intellectuals. Now it’s the subject of a new limited series from Crain’s. Hosted by Crain's residential real estate reporter Dennis Rodkin, the debut of Crain’s Four-Star Stories takes a look at the neighborhood’s recent real estate transformation. It charts Bronzeville’s history –– from the influx of Black Southerners during the Great Migration, through different eras of racial segregation, the rise and fall of its public housing towers, and the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway, to today, when some of the neighborhood’s 3,000 vacant lots are being turned into new housing worth upwards of half a million dollars each. Rodkin and Sherry Williams, founder of the Bronzeville Historical Society, discuss what they are seeing on the ground in the neighborhood. Williams also explains her own family history coming to Bronzeville, and what she hears from her friends and neighbors about the booming real estate market. Both Rodkin and Williams also describe which Bronzeville real estate projects to watch for in the coming years.

This week's guest has been behind the scenes in Chicago politics for years, but just out of the frame. He’s crossed paths with Rod Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson Jr., worked on the Clinton/Gore campaign in the same political organization as a young Don Harmon and Phil Rock. But for the bulk of his career, he’s worked for the Obamas, starting as a paralegal to Michelle Robinson at the law firm of Sidley Austin - not long before she and a hotshot Harvard grad named Barack Obama got married. About 20 years after first meeting the Obamas, Michael Strautmanis is now very much in the frame as executive vice president of civic engagement at the Obama Foundation. He discusses not only the progress on the Obama Presidential Center’s construction in Jackson Park and the foundation’s fundraising efforts, but also concerns around housing affordability nearby, what it’s like as a guy who grew up mostly on the North Side to be handling a project with a big South Side impact, and how the foundation might play a role in addressing gun violence. Strautmanis also talks about what it takes to be a good “fixer” – a political problem solver – and the biggest political mess he ever had to clean up. Remember that beer summit back in 2009?

Each fall, Chicago media report a consistent trend – declining enrollment at Chicago Public Schools. Of those who left by the start of the 2022 school year, about 18,000 moved to a school outside Chicago, 3,000 transferred to private schools, 2,000 dropped out and 1,400 opted for home schooling. Overall, CPS’s net loss of students was 10,000. This year’s drop came in the wake of COVID upheaval at the district, including a protracted fight between the teachers union and the district over the safety of in-person instruction. But a new report finds there are much larger forces at work, and it’s not just impacting big cities like Chicago. The report comes from Kids First Chicago, a group founded by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago that’s dedicated to advocating for parents, particularly on the city’s South and West Sides. The report identifies three key drivers of the enrollment slide at CPS. One, people are having fewer kids overall. Two, the growth of Latino families is slowing. Three, there is an accelerated out-migration of Black families. The solutions aren’t clear in this report – Kids First is embarking on a second installment that includes input from parents. The authors do suggest there are opportunities to win families back, but it’s likely a decades-long quest that will take a big change in policy approach beyond the walls of the district itself. This episode is a two-parter. The guest in the second segment discusses rising enrollments at Catholic Schools. This fall, Archdiocese of Chicago schools saw the student headcount climb for the first time in at least three decades. It jumped by nearly 7% across 157 schools. At a portion of Chicago schools that are getting extra financial support from the philanthropic group Big Shoulders Fund, numbers are up by ​​8%, with pre-k enrollment increasing 28%. The first voice you’re going to hear is Hal Woods, chief of policy at Kids First Chicago. The other voice you’ll hear in the first conversation is Daniel Anello, Kids First’s CEO. Later, you’ll hear from Joshua Hale, president and CEO of Big Shoulders Fund.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal likely will be a key plank of his re-election platform. Not only does it contain goodies for everyday Illinoisans – a property tax rebate for roughly 2 million people, plus a one-year break on grocery and gas taxes – the governor says it demonstrates he’s made good on a pledge to dig the state out of the financial morass of the budget impasse during Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration. Here to analyze that budget is Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a government watchdog group founded by the Commercial Club of Chicago. Msall worked for Governors Jim Thompson and George Ryan on economic development issues, and has deepened his knowledge during his time at the Civic Federation. Republicans in the general assembly and the gubernatorial primary say the governor’s proposal is an election year gimmick that doesn’t fix the state’s structural issues. Msall agrees, but only in part. There are goodies, yes, but he gives the proposal good grades on addressing the state’s bill backlog, pensions, rainy day fund, and likely, its unemployment insurance fund. But there are warnings: the state needs more transparency around its infrastructure plans; the budget doesn’t restart a stalled conversation on larger property tax reform; and there might be challenges in getting this budget through a general assembly who might be eager to spend, rather than stowing money away.

This week, we go back in time with the makers of the documentary Punch 9 for Harold Washington. The film examines the incomparable former Mayor of Chicago’s time in office. Pulled from Congress, Washington became Chicago’s first Black Mayor in 1983 thanks to a multiracial coalition of progressives who campaigned hard on his behalf. He took over after one-termer Jane Byrne and after decades under Richard J. Daley’s leadership. The film includes archival footage and candid interviews with a cavalcade of notable Chicagoans: the Reverend Jesse Jackson, late civil rights historian Timuel Black, late educator Conrad Worrill, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Laura Washington, plus contemporaries like Chuy Garcia, Luis Gutierrez and David Orr – as well as staff, supporters, and opponents, like former 33rd Ward Ald. Dick Mell. Mell was one of the leaders of the Vrdolyak 29, the mostly white City Council members who opposed Washington at every turn, kicking off the infamous Council Wars. If you need a reminder, Washington beat both Byrne and Richard M. Daley in the 1983 primary, then faced Republican Bernard Epton in the general. The film explores the racial animus Washington was up against as a candidate – when Epton used the slogan “before it’s too late…” – and then as mayor, alongside the segregation and discrimination Chicagoans of color experienced. It also explores the kind of city Washington wanted to build before his sudden death in his office in 1987. Work on the film kicked off in 2015 and it debuted for select public audiences this past fall. Director Joe Winston and producer Sonya Jackson talk about how Washington paved the way for candidates of color, what parts of his legacy endure – and what is still left unfulfilled.

Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board and chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, has been at the center of local politics, power and policy for years, so she has a lot of critical issues to discuss, from COVID struggles at the county’s health system and what suburbanites are getting for their federal relief money to three major retirements among county commissioners and what the party might do to replace them, and her worries about big money – specifically Ken Griffin’s money – in politics. Preckwinkle also provides an update on the ongoing spat that’s pitted county officials against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown: the source of the surge in violence locally. Lightfoot says she’s gotten nowhere in efforts to address what she says is the big problem: electronic monitoring. That’s just garbage, Preckwinkle says, pointing to low arrests and a historic mistrust of cops in neighborhoods. But there’s some room for optimism there as well, which she discusses. Also on the agenda: Preckwinkle’s thoughts on guaranteed basic income, and why she thinks one of her riskiest political moves – raising the sales tax – was worth it.

This week's guest is Austan Goolsbee, a former economic advisor to President Barack Obama, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, and currently the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. As the pandemic has surged, Goolsbee’s been keeping a close eye on the major questions confronting our economic future: inflation, supply chain and the future of work. We recorded on the afternoon of Jan. 14, when Chicago and Illinois seemed to be showing a dip in COVID cases, but already, the economic signs for January were pointing downward. Goolsbee says the severity of any economic turndown – like it has during the entire pandemic – will rely on our handling of the virus itself. He discussed whether pandemic changes – like remote work, the great resignation, and a reconsideration of a just-in-time global supply chain – might stick. He also explored whether federal relief is acting like it should, and whether the Build Back Better bill is necessary to cushion the blow from future crises. Goolsbee also talked about what kind of Chicago mayor his neighbor Arne Duncan would make. And Goolsbee explains why he believes cities will recover post-pandemic… if crime can be brought under control.