Bourbon 'n BrownTown

BrownTown chops it up with H Kapp-Klote, a Chicago communications strategist and creator of Chicago 312, a weekly newsletter and video series on Chicago municipal politics. If budgets are moral documents, then how is the City of Chicago planning to live up to its mandate to take care of its 2.7 million residents in 2027? City budgets have always been sites of invest/divest strategy from Chicago’s grassroots while being met with corporate, carceral, and neoliberal forces with varying amounts of power. Now, in this era of a seemingly progressive turn in Chicago and other states/cities, what will this year’s budget fight look like? Why are city budgets (and their actual implementation) so important and what the fuck can everyday folks do about it? Originally recorded on September 28, 2026, before Mayor Brandon Johnson released his budget proposal on October 21, 2026, BrownTown and H cover recent years' budget fights and dive into what to expect for FY2027. How does the general/municipal election environment influence this budget season? Why is CPD abuse so normalized that they allocate millions of dollars of our money every year for misconduct settlements? What is H's monthly proposed vs. actual budget for off-brand Choco Tacos? Here's their take.

GUESTS
H Kapp-Klote (he/him) is a Chicago communications strategist and writes Chicago 312, a weekly newsletter and video series on Chicago municipal politics: parking meters, the school board, the budget, and the gap between what the city says and does. H grew up in Kansas, did policy and press work in D.C., and came to Chicago in 2013. Here he got into organizing through Mariame Kaba and the We Charge Genocide campaign. Since then he's run communications and press for the Chicago Teachers Union, and consulted for progressive groups and candidates around the country. He wrote "How Right-Wing Media Keeps Baiting Chicago" for Convergence Magazine.

Read and subscribe to his newsletter The Chicago 312 and follow him on Instagram!

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Mentioned in episode:

• Minneapolitans voting to disband MPD. More context in One Million Experiments: In The Field -- Minneapolis (interview | episode)
• #NoCopAcademy
• Lightfoot has the biggest dick in Chicago (Yahoo)
• July 2026 City Council meeting - budget fails to meet shortfall (WTTW)
• February 23, 2027 is election day for Chicago!
• City Council fights
  • Data Center 
  • FAIR Act vs. PRO Act
• Mamdani paving 200k potholes in NYC (NY Post, TikTok dude, Novara Media)
• Alderpersons debate the corporate head tax...again (WTTW)
• Recent Chicago 312
  • The Budget and Old Bills
  • The Head Tax Is Back
  • Remember The ARG Ads That Would Fix the Budget?

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CREDITS: Intro from CBS News after Mayor Brandon Johnson released his budget proposal on October 22, 2026. Outro from For the Love of Money by O’Jays. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Ashlee Rezin of the Chicago Sun-Times; H photo provided.

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Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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BrownTown discusses the history and current state of public education in Chicago with Hilario Dominguez, special education teacher and candidate for the President of the Chicago Board of Education. He is running on the Public School Champions platform which includes universal full-day pre-K starting at age three, fresh food and better meals, fully funded Sustainable Community Schools, and youth jobs and career pathways. For the first time in 30 years, the Chicago Elected School Board will be completely elected by the people, and out of mayoral control. Now, in 2026 with a turbulent federal government gutting the Department of Education and billionaires and corporatists pouring money into the school board race in an attempt to ratchet Chicago back to the old neoliberal order, we take a look back at the movements that go us to this moment and answer how we make sense of the current political terrain while being honest, principled, and aggressive about creating a school system that does right by our young people and, thus, our city. Originally recorded September 28, 2026.

GUESTS
Hilario Domínguez grew up in Pilsen (pre-gentrification), the son of a housekeeper and a truck driver, and went through Chicago Public Schools. While at Whitney Young High School, he helped organize student walkouts against budget cuts and school closures. Hilario then went to Johns Hopkins where he found his calling in education before returning to Chicago where he then taught special education in CPS for six years. He is currently raising his family in Chicago and running for President of the Chicago Board of Education on the Public School Champions platform.

Learn more about his campaign on his site,  Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and his Linktree!

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Mentioned in episode:

• Chicago School Board Election 2026 Voter Guide (Block Club Chi)
  • The school board oversees Chicago Public Schools, which is responsible for the education of approximately 305,000 children attending more than 600 schools, split between 20 Districts
  • 21 seats, 46 candidates
• Enrollment losses in Chicago Public Schools (WBEZ)
  • Saving money (Stanford study)
  • Improve academics (Brown study)
• Ep. 76 - Surveillance Capitalism & Abolitionist Tech, Pt. 2 ft. Alyxandra Goodwin
• NYC to ban student AI tools (Chalkbeat)
• Michael Sacks’ punk-ass and The Common Ground Collective

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CREDITS: Intro from WTTW. Outro from Education (Instrumental) by Freddie Gibbs. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo provided by Hilario.

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Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3
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BrownTown talks with comrades Monica Cosby and Chez Rumpf about No New Prisons Illinois (NNPIL), a campaign fighting the state’s plan to spend nearly a billion dollars building two new prisons. Like many carceral reforms, this was in response to yet another death in Stateville Prison due to horribly inhumane living conditions in 2024. Then, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) moved to shut down the prison and, instead of investing in Illinoisians by releasing and rehabilitating people back into society, Governor Pritzker and the state of Illinois proposed $900 million to build two new prisons. Two years later, the NNPIL campaign is in full swing while setting a focus on the Logan Correctional Center closure and transfer process while still fighting for alternative budget investments, challenging (and educating) lawmakers, and building power state-wide. BrownTown and guests discuss campaign strategies; the troubled history of closing, moving, and building prisons in Illinois; deconstruct the liberal co-optation of "trauma-informed" and "gender-responsive" prisons (see "RISE IDOC"), the responsibility of architecture firms in building carceral facilities, and what "fiscal responsibility" actually looks like. Originally recorded September 11, 2026.

GUESTS
Monica Cosby (she/her) describes herself as a “Gramma trying to do liberatory stuff”, whose life and work have been shaped and informed by the communities to which she belongs, including artists, scholars, and moms with whom she was incarcerated, and whose survival was and is an act of resistance against a system that would dispose of them. Monica founded Acting OutSide Performance Crew in 2021 and is also a scholar, thinker, and writer, having essays published or reprinted in TruthOut and The Long Term: Solitary Confinement Is Used To Break People, On Leaving Prison: A Reflection on Entering and Exiting Communities and in the St. Thomas Law Journal "Restorative Revelations" (with Annalise Buth).

Chez Rumpf (she/her) is an author, educator, collaborator, and recovering academic. She is a member of Love & Protect, an abolitionist collective that supports criminalized survivors of gender-based violence, and No New Prisons IL. Her scholarship and community-based work focuses on gender-based violence, carceral systems, post-incarceration experiences, higher education in prison, and visual research methods. Her book Recovering Identity: Criminalized Women's Fight for Dignity and Freedom was published with the University of California Press in May 2023.

Learn more about the No New Prisons campaign on their site,  Instagram, and join the campaign! Check out the Logan Teach-in Toolkit and the John Howard Association 2026 Facility Update on Logan Correctional Center.

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Mentioned in episode:

• Previous coalition episodes on #NoCopAcademy, #StopCopCity, and the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois (CDI) Water Solidarity campaign
• Organizations/Efforts: Love & Protect, John Howard Association, The Marshall Project, Stateville Speaks: Voices from the Inside
• Former Prisoners Give Tips on How to Move a Prison (MindSite News)
• Employees and Incarcerated Women's Thoughts on Logan Move (WTTW)
• Lawrence Prison Hunger Strike (WTTW)
• Prison and Disposability Politics (NPAJ)
• IDOC first person transfer perspectives (Chicago Reader)
• More media about Logan transfer

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CREDITS: Intro and outro from the SoapBox-produced April 15, 2026 No New Prisons press conference video. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Campaign art by Sharah Hutson.

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BrownTown finally takes on the manniverse through a Fitness Against Fascism lens with internet homie Colin Davis, fitness coach and Lefty content creator. Contrary to what gyms, popular workout trends, or wellness influencers may tell you, physical fitness has always been political. Over the past decade alone we've experienced political flashpoint after political flashpoint that have demanded attention from all corners of our socialized life, including and especially fitness and algorithm-driven social media.

Colin and BrownTown explain plainly why fitness is inherently political, underscoring that leaving room for "neutrality", in the field that often equates physical fitness with masculinity, has made space for impressionable young men to get caught up in the the so-called "manniverse". What begins as personal training tips to make dem gainz too often becomes a co-opted tributary into vapid looksmaxxing and hustlepreneurship before finally arriving at blatant misogyny, sexism, and other forms of prejudice. The former fringe corner of the internet over a decade ago has now influenced various industries, social groups, and halls power, most notably the White House.

But on the flip side, progressives, leftists, and folx who just want a better world exercise and workout too! And we don't have to succumb to the violent, racist, fascist, and patriarchal forces that too often hijack our most human activities and relationships. Colin reminds us that, "Hard things are possible if you work at them." If we are to meet this moment -- online and IRL -- we have to get serious about just how political fitness is. The Technofascist Right already did.

GUEST
Colin Davis is fitness coach at Five Point Training who began making content as a means to showcase a compassionate and community oriented alternative to the alienating rhetoric targeted towards young men. By incorporating an empathetic mindset, and positive perspectives on strength, his messages have resonated far beyond his original expectations, with features in Wired, Fox & Friends, and beyond. With the underlying goal to create alignment and connectivity across the aisle, he continues to be driven by the belief that with the right tools, resources, and positive figures, we can transition from a generation fueled by animosity and alienation and into one of kindness, optimism and community action. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube!

Mentioned in Episode:

• Fitness Against Fascism (FAF)
  • Ep. 45 - FAF 2.0
  • Ep. 30 - FAF 1.0
• Joe Blanchet Fitness
• One Nation Overcharged
• White Supremacist Active Clubs
• David Goggins (1, 2)
• Louis Theroux: Into the Manniverse Netflix documentary
• Caullen's deadlift competition and mental health post
• “Male [Loser] Epidemic” IG Post via Fatima Khadijah
• Cocaine vs social media addiction (1, 2)
• Zohran Mamdani's .04% Knicks Championship speech
• Other Manniverse critiques:
  • Jubilee - 1 Man vs The Manosphere
  • How to talk to men and boys about the Manosphere | Ben Hurst | TEDxLondon
  • Why 'manosphere' content is appealing to some young men
  • This woman dated only far-right men for a year: ‘They were so insecure’

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CREDITS: Intro soundbites from Are Men OK? - Exploring The Manosphere via Late Night with Steven Colbert, The Manosphere’s Final Form Is Worse Than You Think via @Benaminute on YouTube, and The Boys Are Not Alright: How the Manosphere is Radicalising Young Men via @Afrodizjha on YouTube. Outro song All You Fascists Bound to Lose by the Resistance Revival Chorus. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by unknown.

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BrownTown continues the "Chinga La Migra" series discussing how ICE ain't shit with Rey Wences of Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and Any Huamani of Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC). Fast-forwarding from the last conversation in summer 2025 focusing on the criminal-legal battles against ICE, the team reflects on the experiences, strategies, and lessons learned from resisting and building power during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago in fall 2025. Now that the consistent bombardment of ICE violently kidnapping our neighbors is not as ever-present nor making national headlines, how do hyperlocal and regional resistance cadres of everyday people, community-based organizations, and larger policy networks channel energy and, in some cases, new found awakening into sustainable material change? How do we balance responding to the moment effectively while unapologetically exposing the conditions that got us here in the first place? Here's their take. Originally recorded April 17, 2026.

GUESTS

Rey Wences is a longtime community organizer and advocate with over a decade of experience championing immigrant justice. Born in Mexico City and raised in Chicago, Rey co-founded the Immigrant Youth Justice League and later Organized Communities Against Deportations, leading impactful campaigns such as erasing the Chicago and Cook County gang databases. Their work spans grassroots organizing, direct action, and communications at the local and national levels. Before serving as Chicago's First Deputy of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights, Rey was Director of Communications at Organizing Power in Numbers, a national economic justice organization. Rey currently works at Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). Follow ICIRR on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Any Huamani is an organizer in the Southwest Side. Her and her family migrated to Chicago’s North Wide from Peru when she was 5. Any grew up in the West Side of Chicago where she saw the disinvestment and an interest grew in her to find out why. Since then, Any volunteered in different non profits and became an organizer the Chicago Hotel Strike in 2018. She is now the Immigration Defense Coordinator at Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC). She also co-leads Treatment Not Trauma, a city wide mental health campaign calling for the reopening of public mental health centers and a citywide nonpolice crisis response. In her free time, she spends time with her two boys and running. Follow BPNC on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Ep. 121 - Chinga La Migra: Understanding Your Rights under a MAGA Regime ft. Khiabett Osuna
• ICE Mass Arrests Spark Chaos In South Loop (Block Club Chi)
• ICIRR Support #: 855.435.7693
• Organized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD)
• Southwest Rapid Response
  • Linktree
  • Donate!
  • What's App Channel
  • Canvass
• Welcoming City Ordinance (ordinance & explainer, 2025 hearings, 2025 vote)
• Alderhomie Rossana Rodriguez debates Alderfuck Raymond Lopez on WTTW
• Border Patrol agents shoot armed woman in Chicago as protesters confront immigration personnel
• Dr. Phil & ICE (1, 2, 3)
• The CHAAD Project
• How ICE grew to be the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency (NPR)
• “Deportation-Industrial Complex” (Brennan Center)
• Pilsen Neighborhood Watch Coalition
• Midwest Immigration Bond Fund
• National immigration Justice Center

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CREDITS: Intro song Chinga La Migra by Zada. Outro music Fuck These Fuckin' Fascists by The Muslims. Audio recorded and engineered by Kassandra Borah. Episode photo by Karina Mireya.

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BrownTown discusses "Life" (1999) with trina reynolds tyler & Maira Khwaja of TM Productions and the Invisible Institute. The double duo breakdown the cult classic's coverage of US incarceration through the decades, respectability politics within Black and Southern white culture, the guilty-innocent dichotomy through an abolitionist lens, and the relatability and timelessness of '90's buddy comedies. The comedy-drama follows two Black men, loudmouth Harlem grifter Ray and the no-nonsense Claude, during 1930’s Prohibition era who are forced to team up on a bootlegging mission to Mississippi that could solve their money troubles with a New York gangster. But they run into more trouble when a crooked, racist white Sheriff hits them with a phony murder charge and they are given lifetime prison sentences. Originally recorded March 2026.

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GUESTS
trina reynolds-tyler is the Data Director at the Invisible Institute, a Pulitzer Prize winning data journalist, and a native of the South Side Chicago. She leads Beneath the Surface, a project employing machine learning to identify gender based violence at the hands of Chicago police. trina works to document how communities unable to depend on the police are forced to create safety and accountability outside of the carceral state. As a data scientist, she centers the practice of narrative justice in her inquiries. trina is also an abolitionist and trained restorative justice practitioner, and on the Board of South Side Together; a community organization whose mission is to secure economic stability and advance human rights. Follow her on Instagram.

Maira Khwaja is an educator and multimedia producer. At the Invisible Institute, she directs public impact strategy & outreach. Her work centers on the Youth / Police Project, which primarily builds conversations with young people (ages 16-22) on the South Side about their everyday encounters with policing. Maira was a 2021 Leaders for a New Chicago award winner. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

trina and Maira are the co-founders of TM Productions! Follow them on Instagram and YouTube.

Mentioned in episode:

CREDITS: Intro from "Life" (1999) trailer and outro music New Day by Wyclef Jean from the film's soundtrack. Episode photo from the film. Audio recorded by Kiera Battles and engineered by Kassandra Borah.

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BrownTown shares virtual space with Dina Amin (AKA Dinamiin), Palestinian filmmaker and singer-songwriter to talk all things art, storytelling, and resistance. Dina shares her journey exploring identity and home through her genre-fluid music and deeply personal yet relatable film work. As the bombardment of war and genocide still cloud the headlines, we refocus our energy on what builds us up in our hearts and our on-the-ground political reality via organizing, political education, artistic influences, and the connections that elevate our souls. Art and media serve as not only framing tools but portals into living out our full humanity in a world that wishes to quash it. Originally recorded March 4, 2026.

GUESTS
Dina (AKA Dinamiin) is a Palestinian filmmaker and singer-songwriter currently based in Los Angeles, pursuing her MFA in Film at CalArts. In 2020, Dina co-founded Space Collective, (site, Instagram), an art house based in the West Bank. Her work explores identity, displacement, memory, and collective liberation through a hybrid of experimental, fiction and documentary. Raised in Palestine, her films often center voices from her community, using cinema as both an archive and a form of expression. Dina co-directed and co-produced her debut short documentary, Rise Up, which was screened at five international film festivals. Over the past ten years, she worked on a range of fiction and nonfiction projects, honing her skills in writing, directing, and producing. Follow her on Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, and her website.

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Mentioned Topics & More Info: 

• "I Always Return to My Roots": 40 Minutes with Dina Amin x
• PATOIS Film Festival
• Sam Cooke, Muhammad Ali, & Malcolm X were homies (1, 2)
• Dina singing "Change Gonna Come"
• Malcolm X film car scene
• Arabic Maqam or Arabic scales
• Ep. 46 - Exploring Blackness & Cultural Media ft. Courtney Phillips & Matthew Manning of Gumbo Media
• Seguimos Aquí - SoapBox film
• Deon Cole, “Fuck ICE” at NAACP Image Awards
• A Time That Remains - full film
• Elia Suleiman, Palestinian film director
• The Taarab Classics
• Related episodes:
  • Ep. 113 - Palestinian Liberation: Divestment, Encampments, & Institutions ft. Amoona
  • Ep. 112 - DNC: Pt. 2 ft. Nesreen Hasan & Nadiah Alyafai
  • Ep. 111 - Palestinian Liberation: Anti-Zionism & Jewish Solidarity ft. Rabbi Brant Rosen & Lesley Williams
  • Ep. 102 - Palestinian Liberation: In This Moment ft. Muhammad Sankari

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CREDITS: Intro song from Jowa El-Kon by Dinamiin; outro song A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles.

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Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3
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BrownTown on BrownTown. The podcast's audio engineers Kiera Battles and Kassandra Borah, and for the first time Jamie Price, assistant producer, step to the mics to talk all things BnB 2025! Last year we dropped our first show trailer; had our first live event since 2018; started our new "Wrap Up" series discussing/promoting SoapBox films; continued our Palestinian Liberation and Whiskey & Watching series; talked public transit, housing protections for working people, and how ICE ain't shit; and throughout the year analyzed Trump's billionaire, tech bro, Christian Nationalist fascist takeover and how we fight back. For better or worse, here's to 2026!

With 12 total full episodes, 2025 brought 10 guest episodes (4 repeat, 7 new; 8 with 2+ guests) and 8 series-type episodes. In addition to the yearly breakdown, the full team discusses shared leadership, reflects heavily on the in-person BnB Live event the previous night, the making of the BnB trailer, and how SoapBox's 2025 trajectory and overall political moment compares to 2017-2019. Originally recorded December 9, 2025.

Listen to all the episodes on your chosen podcast application or right here!

GUESTS

Kiera Battles ecently received her MA in music business from Berklee College of Music. There, she created When The Show Is Over, a non-profit dedicated to empowering individuals in the music industry, helping them develop the skills and confidence needed to make a significant impact in the field. As she continues to develop the organization, Kiera plans to continue pursuing her diverse passions — whether that's through audio, venue work, making waves in the music industry, or being an absolute menace.

Kassandra Borah is a 2025 graduate of Columbia College Chicago. With her bachelor’s degree in Sound Design, she tackles a wide variety of projects. From podcasts to films to advertisements, Kassandra makes cool sounds—sounds that elevate and uplift. Her skill set also includes writing, producing, music composition, and vocal performance. A lifelong artist, she is committed to community and creation.

Jamie Price is a visual artist and data conversion specialist. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and obtained her BFA in Photography at Northern Illinois University. Her work focuses on documentation and reflections of queer life and finding meaning in critical thought and analysis.

CREDITS: Intro soundbite from the current SoapBox reel; outro music Haters by Slim Thug x Paul Wall x BigXthaPlug. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Aidan Kranz.

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Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3
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BrownTown heads over to CH Distillery | Jōtō Sushi in Chicago's West Loop for their second-ever live recording with Alicia Hurtado and Qudsiyyah Shariyf of Chicago Abortion Fund. In a moment of further descent into fascism on the federal level, built on decades of policy maneuvers and reactive cultural propaganda through a now resurgent Christian Nationalist and far-right forces, we seek to amplify and uplift the four decades-long work of Chicago Abortion Fund and the movement for reproductive justice, gender equity, and ultimately collective liberation. Not only have we also been working in this movement and others to support from a grassroots level but also to codify life-affirming practices and funding at the policy and institutional level. With our sights on 2026 and far beyond, let’s broaden our tent while strengthening our ties in order to -- not just hold the line on reproductive rights -- but expand and fight back against a re-energized threat on all fronts!

LIVE AT CH DISTILLERY | JŌTŌ SUSHI
CH is Chicago's leading artisan spirits producer with an extensive portfolio. Hosted inside their former distillery is Jōtō Sushi, where guests can experience both à la carte sushi and signature omakase dining, each reflecting their dedication to culinary excellence and attention to detail. Tell them BrownTown sent ya!

GUESTS
Alicia Hurtado (ah-LEE-see-ah her-TAH-do; they/she) has been building power as staff at the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF) since 2020, where they currently serve as Director of Advocacy and Communications. Alicia leads CAF’s political advocacy, communications, and grassroots organizing strategy to create a culture shift that destigmatizes abortion and moves towards a world in which all people can access abortion care no matter who they are or where they are from.

Qudsiyyah Shariyf (could-SEE-yuh sher-REEF; she/they) is an organizer, birthworker, and reproductive justice advocate currently serving as Deputy Director of the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF). Her strategic vision has been instrumental in expanding CAF’s capacity to provide logistical, financial, and emotional support to people seeking abortion care in Chicago, Illinois, and beyond.

Chicago Abortion Fund's mission is to advance reproductive autonomy and justice for everyone by providing financial, logistical, and emotional support to people seeking abortion services and by building collective power and fostering partnerships for political and cultural change. They envision a world where everyone has the freedom and autonomy to create lives, families, and communities that are healthy, safe, and thriving and where the full range of reproductive choices, including abortion, are accessible and affirmed. Follow CAF on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Mentioned in or related to episode: 

• Birth Equity Act (HB 5142)
• DidBidenSayAbortionYet.org
• Megan Jeyifo (CAF Executive Director) on the 2025 Dobbs anniversary (WBEZ)
• Guttmacher comprehensive report on family planning and reproductive health (2025)
• Abortion: A History by Mary Fissel, referenced by one of the Q&A participants
• CAF -- How We Can Help
• CAF -- Pre-Abortion
• CAF -- Post-Abortion
• Say abortion toolkit: bit.ly/sayabortion
• M+A Hotline
• Ep. 28 - Fighting for Women's Rights through Faith, Policy, & #MeToo ft. Zoe Goodman

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CREDITS: Intro soundbite of Qudsiyyah in 2021 giving remarks at a protest after SB8 was passed in Texas rally. Outro song Die of Shame by Tilt. Audio engineered by Kassandra Borah. Episode photo by Hannah Linsky.

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BrownTown shares space with Sadie Soto, consultant, organizer, policy savant, lifelong Chicagoan, and devoted CTA rider. The gang chats about the fall 2025 CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) and RTA (Regional Transportation Authority) budget crisis and the role and responsibility of mass public transit in our lives. As the recent funding crisis put public transit in Chicagoland in the spotlight, the team uses it as a catalyst to unpack the nuts and bolts of what funding public services actually looks like on a municipal, county, and state level; the perceptions and realities of public transit; and the the limited political will and actual possibility of what a fully funded and equitable transportation system could actually look like. Originally recorded October 24, 2025. Updates on the state vote and current state of CTA/RTA below in episodes notes.

GUEST

Sadie Soto is a lifelong Chicagoan and devoted CTA rider. A former congressional intern, she is deeply familiar with policy at the national level and has also been active locally as an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union. Over the years, she has volunteered for multiple aldermanic campaigns and remains an engaged resident of Jefferson Park, frequently attending her neighborhood chamber of commerce and community meetings. She currently works as an environmental consultant, where she supports community-centered initiatives through outreach coordination, public meeting facilitation, and communications that translate complex policy into accessible stories.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Update: Illinois lawmakers pass public transit funding bill to address RTA budget gap (ABC Chicago)
• Pre-vote: Budget shortfall could end CTA's 24-hour public service in Chicago (ABC Chicago)
• Mayor Johnson's “Safe And Smoke-Free Public Transit” Executive Order
• Violent crime on the CTA remains above pre-pandemic levels (Transit Talent)
• Red Ahead Program
• Why Chicago still hasn't fixed the Loop (The Flying Moose, YouTube)
• Why Doesn't the US have better public transportation? (Sustainable America)
• Illinois lawmakers propose merging CTA, Metra, Pace (1, 2)

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CREDITS: Intro soundbite from Climate and Transit video. Outro music End Of Beginning by Djo. Audio engineered by Kassandra Borah. Production assistance by Jamie Price.

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Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3
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