Chicago Newsroom

Ken Davis is joined by Jessica Droeger and Jeff Radue, both organizers with Indivisible Chicago. They discuss their efforts to disengage Illinois from CrossCheck, a national program that compares voter rolls from multiple states to root out voter fraud, but has been shown to be a significant threat to data security and personal privacy. They also talk about the complicated role that social media plays in today’s political environment, and the need to resist further consolidation of media ownership. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Today on Chicago Newsroom Guest Host Kitty Kurth is joined by two guest who know an awful lot about gun violence and present some interesting and innovative ways to address the scourge that it has become. Kathleen Sances from GPAC Gun Violence Prevention PAC talks about legislation in the Illinois legislature which if enacted would save lives in Chicago, and throughout the State of Illinois. Also joining Kitty is Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning songwriter and “artivist” Che Rhymefest Smith, a well-known figure on the Chicago scene, who’s the Creative Director of Donda’s House and who has been working for years trying to prevent all types of violence. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Today on Chicago Newsroom Guest Host Kitty Kurth talks current affairs with two of her all-time favorite girl pundits. Guests Sylvia Ewing and Joanna Klonsky cover a wide range of topics from what they provocatively describe as a “non-old white guy perspective”. They tackle the news of the day and also discuss how the media tackles the news. Both guests have long resumes which include political, social, and community activism and organizing in Chicago and beyond. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by Sara Gronkiewicz-Doran and Nick Kryczka, both members of Neighbors for Affordable Housing in Jefferson Park. Their group has launched a campaign to support affordable, accessible and inclusive housing on Chicago’s Northwest side. They discuss an effort to build an affordable-housing complex at 5150 N. Northwest Highway, for which Mayor Emanuel recently denied tax credits, making the building’s construction far more difficult. They also talk about the affordable housing ordinance that passed City Council yesterday. The measure mandates that at least 10% of all new multi-unit housing developments built in two pilot areas contain a minimum of 10% “affordable” units. Critics, however, maintain that “affordable” rents in such buildings would be nearly a thousand dollars a month for a one-bedroom, which is out of reach for lower-income people and that the units are too small for a family. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by AFSCME’s public affairs director Anders Lindall to discuss Janus vs AFSCME, a significant case to be heard this year by the United Sates Supreme Court. If the Court decides against AFSCME it would allow workers in a unionized public-sector workplace to reject the payment of union “fair-share” fees. Fair share fees are required from workers who are not part of the union, since benefits negotiated by the union accrue to all workers in the unit whether union members or not. The case, strongly advocated by Governor Rauner, seeks to severely limit, if not completely dis-empower, public-sector unionism. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by Sun-Times columnist Dan Mihalopoulos to discuss his recent column revealing a possible financial conflict for Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin, who has been leading the push to repeal the County’s Sweetened Beverage Tax.

Mihalopoulos reported that Boykin, an employee of the national law firm Barnes and Thornberg, has been a paid lobbyist for PepsiCo and the School Nutrition Association, which receives funding from PepsiCo. In that capacity he has advocated against efforts to pass “soda taxes” in Illinois and other states. Boykin says that he has sent a letter to the firm instructing them that he does not wish to receive any proceeds as part of his share as a partner, from PepsiCo or Coca-Cola. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by the Chicago Rehab Network’s Kevin Jackson to discuss recent proposals to amend the City’s housing ordinance in an effort to build more “affordable housing.” The proposal is controversial, however, because some aldermen argue that the amendments do nothing to stem gentrification. Since 2000, according to CRN’s most recent report, one-half of Chicago’s homeowners are paying more than the standard 1/3of their income for their mortgage. And today, in order to afford the average Chicago two-bedroom apartment, a family must earn at least $21 an hour. Chicago now has 100,000 more residents who earn more than $75,000, but the rising housing costs – combined with stagnant wages – have “hollowed out the middle,” Jackson says. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by The Chicago Reporter’s Jonah Newman, who has compiled an interactive web-based tracker of Chicago police reform efforts. The Department of Justice identified 99 items they believed needed reform at CPD, and the Reporter’s tracker lists each, describes it, and labels each as implemented, partially implemented, planned, not done or unclear. It shows only 6 of the 99 in the implemented category. They also discuss moonlighting by Chicago police and the high number of cash settlements (943) the City has paid out since 2011 because of police misconduct. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by AJ LaTrace, editor of Curbed Chicago. They react to Chicago’s bid for the new Amazon corporate headquarters, and assess the likelihood that Chicago will be chosen. They discuss several transformative development projects that are reshaping large portions of Chicago, including Wolf Point, the North Branch and the Obama Library. They also talk about several City projects, such as the Theater on the Lake redevelopment and the new Wabash CTA station. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by Chicago Tribune investigative reporter Michael Hawthorne, who writes extensively about Chicago environmental issues. They discuss Chicago's readiness for extreme weather events, including how the City's Deep Tunnel system would be able to handle large deluges of rain such as those that inundated Houston. They also discuss lead poisoning, including a series of stories Hawthorne wrote about lead in the private-market Section 8-subsidized apartments now used by thousands of CHA families. In addition, they examine the issue of lead water service pipes that connect almost every home in Chicago to the water mains under their streets. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).