Chicago Newsroom

Ken Davis is joined by the Chicago Tribune’s investigative reporter Jason Grotto. They discuss Grotto’s multi-part series, a year in the reporting, about the inherent inequities in the Cook County property tax assessment system. Grotto describes situations in which homes in lower-income communities are most often assessed at higher values than sales numbers would indicate, while in high-income areas, homes are most often under-valued. These inequities result in poorer people paying a vastly higher tax rate than wealthier people. And they have spawned a vigorous industry of tax-appeal law firms which win appeals by overwhelming numbers, although their services are used disproportionately by homeowners in wealthier neighborhoods. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by NBC5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern for a discussion about the Illinois Governor’s race, the possibility of an elected school board in Chicago and president Trump’s infrastructure plan.

In the second half, Ken Davis is joined by Chicago Reader Music Editor Phillip Montoro and Chicago News Guild representative David Roeder. They discuss the impending sale of Wrapports, which publishes both the Sun-Times and the Reader. Both guests have been active in the effort to find an alternate buyer for the properties in order to promote a greater diversity of views and coverage. Their campaign is promoted at the No News Monopoly Action Network. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown and City Hall reporter Hal Dardick. They discuss recent revelations that J.B. Pritzker had several conversations with Rod Blagojevich about his potential appointment to political office, including Barack Obama’s then-vacant Senate seat and what they thought might be a vacancy in the State Treasurer’s office. The panel assesses the possible damage to Pritzker’s campaign. They also discuss the recent controversy over the proposal to build a low-income housing building near the Jefferson Park CTA station in John Arena’s 45th Ward, and the fact that collective-bargaining contracts for nearly 90% of the City’s unionized workers will have expired by the end of this summer. In particular, Mayor Emanuel had expressed support for revising some police department rules, as recommended by his own police reform commission. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by media observers Thom Clark and Scott Smith. They discuss the Chicago media landscape, in particular the likely sale of the Sun-Times and Reader to Tronc, which already owns the Tribune, Chicago Magazine and dozens of other smaller publications. They also discuss the rise of other news sources in Chicago such as ProPublica Illinois, the South Side weekly and City Bureau, and they express their concern that the Reader might not survive the transition. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for a conversation about the dramatic effect repeal of the Affordable Care Act would have on County health services. More than 480,000 individuals have obtained health insurance through the Act, or about ten percent of the county’s entire population. Replacing the services currently covered by the ACA would cost County taxpayers more than $300 million annually, she argues. Preckwinkle also discusses crime issues, including her opposition to the efforts to pass legislation increasing penalties for illegal gun possession and her concern that reform of the Chicago Police Department may stall without strong mayoral leadership. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by urban policy writer Daniel Kay Hertz. They discuss the CTA’s plan to extend the Red Line to 130th street and an alternative Hertz proposed in the South Side Weekly to institute rapid-transit-style service on nearby Metra tracks. They also talk about seemingly-stalled efforts to build a Bus Rapid Transit line along Ashland Avenue, and the possibility that autonomous vehicles could someday completely reinvent what we think of today as public transportation. They also discuss the possible loss of the Thompson Center, which Hertz says will one day be included in photo-books of lost architectural treasures. And he extolls the virtues of four-plus-one apartment buildings. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by three Chicago education reporters: Lauren FitzPatrick of the Sun-Times and WBEZ reporters Sarah Karp and Becky Vevea. They discuss Mayor Emanuel’s efforts to find money to keep the Chicago Public Schools open until the end of the school year, the new CPS high school application process, the likelihood that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will be able to institute school vouchers in Illinois and Chicago, and the sentencing of former CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Alden Loury and Sun-Times reporter Mick Dumke. They discuss a recent Dumke story about the spike in Chicago Police arrests of parolees for “unlawful contact” with people the police identify as gang members. They also discuss an MPC report that quantifies the cost of segregation in Chicago, expressed in lost wages, missed education opportunities and disparate law enforcement procedures. In addition, they analyze MPC data pointing to severe job losses that occur a few years after significant white population loss in individual suburbs, and consider a suggestion that some tax-strangled south suburbs might want to consider allowing the City of Chicago to annex them. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-13) to discuss the recent passage of his Safe Neighborhoods Reform Act in the Illinois Senate. Consideration in the House should begin shortly. Raul’s bill calls for more stringent penalties for individuals caught carrying an illegal firearm for the second time, although the bill also provides for some measure of judicial discretion. Raoul argues that a person caught a second time with an illegal firearm demonstrates a high potential for future armed violence. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).

Ken Davis is joined by the Chicago Reporter’s Curtis Black. They discuss the likelihood that Mayor Emanuel will continue with police reform in the Donald Trump era and the details of Sen. Kwame Raoul’s proposed legislation intensifying penalties for the illegal possession of firearms. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).