Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, joins John Williams to talk about a new Washington Post editorial backing four key reforms to change Chicago’s financial trajectory.

Jackson Potter, Vice President, Chicago Teachers Union, joins John Williams to talk about the effort to close schools on May 1st so students and teachers can take part in a civic day of action.

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou says that after all the storms over the past week, it’s a good idea to give your house a good inspection to see if you suffered any wind damage that needs to be fixed by a professional.

Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday morning at 6 am.

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

Former WGN Radio news anchor Steve Bertrand was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the RTDNA Foundation at their 2026 First Amendment Awards.

The foundation’s awards celebrate the efforts to promote responsible journalism and preserve the constitutionally guaranteed rights to do so. Past honorees include local reporters, network anchors, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple U.S. Senators.

A cornerstone of the airwaves for four decades, Steve Bertrand retired from WGN Radio in November 2025. His tenure with the station began as an intern in the 1980s, eventually transitioning to anchoring the news in 1992.

Watch Steve’s acceptance speech:

Listen to Steve’s acceptance speech:

Click here for video of the full event from the RTDNA website.

Click here for more on the event from the RTDNA website.

Photo gallery:

• Steve Bertrand accepting Lifetime Achievement Award
• Steve Bertrand gets NBC’s Tom Llamas to call his mom
• Page from the program at the Radio Television Digital News Association 2026 First Amendment Awards
• Page from the program at the Radio Television Digital News Association 2026 First Amendment Awards
• Steve Bertrand accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award from the RTDNA 2026 First Amendment Awards
• WGN Radio News Director, Ryan Burrow with Steve Bertrand at the RTDNA 2026 First Amendment Awards in Washington, D.C.
• Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C.
• Several Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism students were honored at the 2026 RTDNA First Amendment Awards, and wanted to meet Steve.
• Vladimir Duthiers (CBS News), Steve Bertrand (WGN Radio), Juju Chang (ABC News) were among the award winners
• German journalists with the RIAS Berlin Commission celebrated Steve Bertrand’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 RTDNA First Amendment Awards at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
• Steve Bertrand and CBS 2 Chicago’s Asal Rezaei were honored by the Radio Television Digital News Association at the 2026 First Amendment Awards

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 for 2026! Are you trying to come up with some quick getaway ideas that are only a short trip from the Chicago area? Well, John Williams has some great recommendations for you! Today, we head to Wisconsin and visit with Kathleen Papcke, Chair, Women’s Weekend Committee, Geneva Lake Women’s Association! Kathleen tells John everything about this year’s Women’s Weekend events coming up this April. Find more information here.

Professor Samir Khuller, Chair, Northwestern’s Computer Science Department, joins John Williams to talk about the university offering a major in AI next year.

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, multi-media journalist Brandon Pope, author of Brandon Pope’s Screening Room, and long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing the war in Iran. How and when does this war end? Last week, HHS Secretary RFK Jr. called out Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks for serving high-sugar drinks. Should the government be regulating these types of drinks? This week, Uber launched their women-only ride option. Do the Rascals have any issues with this option? Also this week, The Wall Street Journal has a piece on how AI could save local news. How are the Rascals feeling about this? And speaking of AI, former congressman Bobby Rush used AI in a campaign ad to voice his support for Jesse Jackson Jr. Do the Rascals believe this is a good use of AI? And finally, the Rascals make some election day / Oscar predictions.