John Williams

Marge Sipla, Speed Jokes spirit animal, cataloger and Member of the Speed Jokes Committee, joins John and the gang to give us her favorite Speed Jokes of April 2025! What was your favorite joke this month? And as always, John brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected]

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute (sign up for his new Substack!), longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast discussing the odds that Governor Pritzker becomes president, former governor Rod Blagojevich makes a run for Illinois senator, or Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton takes Senator Durbin’s seat. Eric explains why he is upset that Governor Pritzker and Senator Duckworth already put their fingers on the scale in favor of Stratton in the race to replace Senator Durbin. But what about Pritzkers’ fiery speech in New Hampshire over the weekend? A news story broke earlier this week that suggested Amazon was going to display tariff costs on items. A few hours later, Amazon said that was never the plan. Will Jeff Bezos ultimately decide to display tariff costs? President Trump did an interview with ABC news where he discussed tourism, tariffs, and the detainment of Abrego Garcia. What were the big takeaways from the interview? The Chicago Teachers Union is encouraging students and staff to miss school for a political rally. Austin gets us up to speed on the controversy. Legislation is pending in Illinois that would ban large retailers from using single-use plastic or styrofoam. What do the Rascals think of the proposed legislation? And finally, it’s time for red light, yellow light, green light! What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week?

Elder law attorney Kerry Peck joins John Williams to answer all your questions about elder law, trusts, wills, and elder abuse. Kerry tells John about ‘signature for sex’ cases, and to share his thoughts on Bill Belichick’s interview with CBS. Does Kerry believe Belichick is cognitively impaired?

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 it’s time to start your weekly mowing, and it’s still not too late to do your spring cleanup.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL 8) joins John Williams to talk about his political future and if he intends to run for Senator Durbin’s seat. Rep. Krishnamoorthi says he will have an announcement soon. The congressman also talks about his ‘tariff tour,’ and what he’s hearing from his constituents.

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

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about WGN-TV’s Mike Lowe’s battle with cancer, and the importance of getting checked out if you think something might be wrong. Dr. Kopin also tells John if he believes any possible funding cuts by the Trump administration could impact the work being done at Northwestern.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about the possibility of disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich running for Dick Durbin’s Senate seat, Gov. Pritzker’s speech in New Hampshire over the weekend, and his thoughts on Gov. Pritzker and Sen. Duckworth already endorsing Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton for Durbin’s seat.

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

Jens Ludwig, the Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, Pritzker Director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and author of ‘Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence,’ joins John Williams to talk about why he started the Crime Lab, the reasons the U.S. hasn’t made any real progress solving gun violence, why we need a different approach to gun violence, the impact that gun violence has on a city, his thoughts on gun detection technology and the importance of getting people out of their homes and having ‘eyes on the street.’