John Williams

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! The Rascals start off the podcast talking about the Department of Justice looking into the hiring practices of Mayor Brandon Johnson. What do the Rascals make of the DOJ probe? The Chicago City Council did not take a vote today on ‘snap curfews.’ Do the Rascals think that ‘snap curfews’ could be effective? Pivoting to the WNBA, the Rascals chat about the game between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever last weekend. What are the Rascals thoughts on the budding rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese? It was revealed over the weekend that former President Biden was diagnosed with an advanced stage of prostate cancer. The Rascals talk about the diagnosis, and the controversy surrounding the book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on Biden’s mental decline. And speaking of controversy, the Sun-Times is being criticized for using AI to create a summer reading guide containing books that don’t exist. The Rascals break it all down. And finally, it’s time for Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light. What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week.

WGN Radio’s John Williams and Lisa Dent are on a mission to help send three buses full of kids to City Kids Camp, a 501c3 non-profit, where inner-city kids get to spend a week of adventure at a summer camp in the country, southwest of Peoria. John and Lisa are joined by Hector Corona, the camp’s owner and founder, and Bob Evans, the development director. This is WGN Radio’s third annual City Kids Camp Radiothon and our partners, Republic Bank of Chicago, Alpha Wealth Group‘s Tom Fortino, Avondale Roofing, and Jewel Osco, have provided financial support along with many WGN Radio listeners.

The cost to send a kid to camp for a week is $600 and that includes meals, lodging and camp activities. Any donation to City Kids Camp is appreciated and you can make a donation online here. Learn more about City Kids Camp at citykidscamp.org.

Pam Cronkright, newly retired teacher at Ottawa Township High School, joins John Williams to talk about her career in the classroom. Pam tells John about the relationship she had with her students, how it feels on day 1 of retirement, the challenge of teaching history and government to high school students, the importance of teaching kids to be critical thinkers, how she guides students to the facts, and the support she receives from the families of her students.

Bob Bertog, president of Bertog Landscape Co. in Wheeling and a certified landscape professional with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, joins John Williams to answer all of your lawn and garden questions. Bob says the rain we’ve been having will help and we’ll see some growth when it warms up.

Steve Budzik, Managing Broker, iCandy Realty, joins John Williams to talk about the boyhood home of Pope Leo XIV and how the city of Dolton is now planning to take ownership of the home through eminent domain.

Niall Stanage, White House Columnist for The Hill, joins John Williams to talk about President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ Is Medicaid going to get touched? Niall explains what’s in the bill and the chances of this passing through Congress.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected].

Andy Masur of WGN Sports and Ryan Burrow, WGN News Director and host of ‘The Stadium Club‘ podcast, join John Williams to talk about new developments surrounding a possible new Bears stadium being in Arlington Heights.

Attorney Rich Lenkov, Capital Member, Downey & Lenkov, and co-host of “Legal Face-Off” on wgnradio.com, joins John Williams to talk about the Justice Department investigating Mayor Brandon Johnson for alleged racially-motivated hiring. Rich tells John if he believes Johnson’s hiring of some employees is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Brian Gordon, President, Gordon Associates, joins John Williams to talk about long-term care insurance. Brian explains what long-term care insurance is, the most important thing to consider when looking into long-term care insurance, the best time to start a plan, what they look at when the devise a plan for you, how they work with financial advisors to make sure people are set for the future, and the average premium for policy holders.