John Williams

John Williams reflects on the life and legacy of comedy legend and former Chicagoan Bob Newhart, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 94.

Curtis Granderson, Chicago native and former MLB All-Star, joins John Williams to talk about being down in Texas for All-Star weekend, his mission to keep youth participation in baseball equitable, the work he is doing with the Chicago Baseball and Education Academy, and the upcoming Major League Wiffle Ball event happening Saturday, July 27 at Curtis Granderson Stadium at UIC.

Mike Nellis, former Senior Advisor to Kamala Harris and Founder and CEO of Authentic, a Chicago-based political fundraising and consulting firm, joins John to talk about the continued calls for President Biden to step down from the presidential race and what this might mean for Vice President Harris.

Enjoy this edition of “The Best of Speed Jokes.” What was your favorite joke of the week? Keep sending your jokes to [email protected]!

It’s time once again for our Best of the Midwest feature! Are you trying to come up with some vacation ideas that are only a quick getaway from the Chicago area? Well, John Williams has some great recommendations for your trip! Today, we take a trip to Kane County and talk with Karen Ann Miller, Executive Planner for Kane County Development Department! Karen tells John about the river towns that are in Kane County, how the water trail was designated by the Secretary of the Interior to be part of the National Park Service National Water Trail System, why this designation is so important, what the Fabulous Fox! Water Trail is like, where you can get out and enjoy things along the river trail, what you can see when you explore the trail, where you can stay if you want to spend a few days exploring, some of the places you can eat and drink in the area, and why the Fox Valley is such a hidden gem.

Click here for the chance to win a Fabulous Fox! National Water Trail thru Kane County prize package that includes a guided kayak tour, dinner, and overnight stay!

New England Sports Network betting analyst Sam Panayotovich joins John Williams to talk about the Chicago food he misses while he’s in New England, how bad Chicago sports teams have been recently, if he thinks the Bears will make the playoffs this year, what he expects from Caleb Williams, and what Chicago franchise will the next to win a championship. Sam also gives us the latest odds on who will be the Democratic presidential nominee.

John Williams 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, Cate Plys, former staff writer at the Chicago Reader, and political op-ed columnist at the Sun-Times and Tribune, and political pundit Marj Halperin! This week the gang kick things of chatting with Rascal Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU, who is covering the RNC (and pasta) in Milwaukee. What is Brandon seeing and hearing up in Milwaukee as he covers the GOP convention? New polling from 538 about the presidential election shows that the race is extremely close. What do the Rascals make of the current polls? Eric believes the Democrats are in disarray and in real trouble, while Marj thinks President Biden does have a path to victory. More and more members of Congress are asking President Biden to step down. Do the Rascals think Biden is going to stay in the race? And what do the Rascals think of Trump picking Senator JD Vance to be his running mate? Switching to some local news, the Rascals mince about Mayor Johnson tabling a plan to fine ‘teen trend’ party organizers, Mayor Johnson’s appointment of Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez as Zoning chair being delayed, Mayor Johnson wanting CPS to take out the equivalent of a payday loan to address its budget challenges, and the Johnson administration nixing a plan to remove a George Washington statue from city hall. And finally, back to national politics. The Rascals have a discussion on political rhetoric in light of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.

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. We’ve been getting a lot of rain so what should we know about treating our lawn right now?

WGN Radio listener Sara Hagen joins John Williams to talk about a scam phone call she received from someone claiming to be from the Glen Ellyn police. Sara explains how she was able to determine this was a scam and how she was able to prevent herself from becoming a victim.