The Jay Doherty Podcast Episode 24 – An interview with Anne Burke and Tom Ricketts
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Jay Doherty Podcast. Today, I interviewed Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke and Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts.
I’ve taken the time to write out all of the questions I ask Justice Burke and Mr. Ricketts down below.
How Did You Come Up With The Idea — Of Asking The Kennedy Foundation For A Grant?
How Did You Earn The Support Of Mayor Richard J. Daley — For This Track-and-field Competition — At The Chicago Park District?
I Have Heard Talk Of Adding A Fifth Star On The Chicago Flag To Commemorate The Fact That Special Olympics Started In Chicago. What Is The Background On This Fifth Star Campaign?
Is There A Favorite Special Olympics Story Which You Would Like To Share With Us?
This Past March, The Special Olympics And The Chicago Park District, Held A Groundbreaking Ceremony On Soldier Field’s North Lawn For The Eternal Flame Of Hope Which Is A Permanent, 30 Foot Monument Marking The Site Of The Very First Special Olympic Games 50 Years Ago. What Is The Significance Of The Monument To You Personally, And What Sort Of Message Do You Hope The Monument Symbolizes For Others?
I Am Proud To Support My Sister Rosalie, Who Is A Special Olympian. She Will Begin Training In The Next Few Weeks. I think some people are First- Surprised The Special Olympics Are A “true Athletic Competition”. For Example, Rosalie Trained For Weeks, She Had To Qualify For Race Times, Abide By The Rules Of Engagement And The Officials Refereeing; There Are Stopwatches And Time Outs To Measure Distances At The Competition. So, if you want a medal, you have to earn it. What Surprised You Or Continues To Stand Out In Your Mind As Unique To The Special Olympic Athlete And The Games?
Almost 50 Years Ago, Mayor Richard Daley Is Reported To Have Turned To Eunice Kennedy Shriver At Soldier Field In Chicago, At The First International Special Olympic Games On July 20th, 1968 And Said “the World Will Never Be The Same After This.” Now, 50 years later, what do you think when you look back on that?
Any Plans Yet To Attend The 2019 International Games In Abu Dhabi?
Out of curiosity, how did you come up with the idea of buying a baseball team?
What changed in your life, personally when you became the owner of a major league sports team?
Chicago Cubs Charities is a huge program involving many charities. For the viewers who don’t know, could you talk about its mission?
Cubs Charities began in the 1980’s with cancer research. Since then, it is reported that donations to Cubs Charities have expanded by more than 40 percent since your family assumed control of the team. What do you attribute to that kind of success?
The Cubs announced their 2018 slogan as “Everybody’s In”. This morning’s breakfast was in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics: The Special Olympics is an inclusion movement too with 5 million athletes competing to win medals in 172 countries: What do you think the Cubs players could learn from the Special Olympic Athlete and what might the Special Olympic Athlete learn from the Cubs?
The Cubs were wearing #MSDStrong shirts before the start of the Opening Day game against the Marlins in Miami when Anthony Rizzo, a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, hit a home run and 
