John Williams

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, and long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972. The Rascals begin the podcast by congratulating Rascal Brandon Pope on his new gig at FOX32! Congrats, BP! Now, to the news. The controversy surrounding Flock cameras continues to make headlines. What are the Rascals thoughts on the technology? Next, the Rascals dig into Chicago crime statistics. President Trump and some candidates for Chicago mayor are saying the city isn’t doing enough to tackle crime. What do the Rascals think? President Trump continues his quest to rename things. Last week, it was Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America,’ and today it was Strait of Hormuz to ‘Trump Strait.’ What’s going on here? And what about Trump’s efforts to squash mail-in voting? Is this something we should be concerned about heading towards the midterm elections? Austin is being sued for defamation by the CTU and will update us soon on what’s going on. Austin also tells us about a new poll of city workers that shows Mayor Johnson losing support from rank and file teachers, and what we should know about the upcoming Chicago school board election. And speaking of Mayor Johnson, do the Rascals expect him to announce a reelection campaign on September 13th? On a lighter note, Cate explains why she has had enough of Chicago’s recent Malört obsession! And finally, it’s time for red light, yellow light, green light. What are the Rascals recommending or not recommending this week?

We are ‘Keeping it Green’ with 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 lawns are doing great with recent rains, but make sure to keep an eye out for fungus with all the heat and humidity.

Mortgage and real estate expert David Hochberg joins John Williams to explain what’s going on with Treasury yields, how the war in Iran has been impacting the economy, today’s ADP data, what is expected from Friday’s August labor report, and the risks and rewards of paying off your home with a HELOC.

David hosts “Home Sweet Home Chicago” on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm on WGN Radio. You can call him at 855-56-David, or check out the Team Hochberg website.

Cathy Adduci, Village President, River Forest, joins John Williams to talk about why some residents of River Forest are not on board with the plan for the O’Hare Flyer, a high speed train that will get you from downtown to O’Hare Airport in 15 minutes.

Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and host of “The Alpha Wealth Hour” on WGN Radio, joins John to talk about the impact of the war in Iran on the economy, why the market has been resilient despite the uncertainty, why he thinks the market is poised for growth, what he expects from the Fed policy decision in September, if the midterm elections will have any impact on the stock market, and the projections for this Friday’s August labor report.

TUNE IN to WGN Radio and listen to The Alpha Wealth Hour on Sundays at 7 AM. Catch up on previous episodes on WGNRadio.com, and subscribe to it on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about the controversy surrounding Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed saying in an interview that he wants Michigan to ‘beat Ohio.’ El-Sayed is also under scrutiny for some old tweets referencing 9/11. Eric also talks about the upcoming Chicago mayoral election, and why he’s skeptical of the plans for the O’Hare Flyer.

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about studies that are being done to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, the FDA approving a drug treatment for pancreatic cancer, and what we know about this year’s flu season.

Marge Sipla, Speed Jokes spirit animal, cataloger, and member of the Speed Jokes Committee, joins John Williams and the gang to give us her favorite Speed Jokes of August 2026! What was your favorite joke this month? Keep sending your jokes to [email protected]

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. With all the rain this week, Lou says to take a quick walk around the home and look for problem areas to address so water doesn’t get into your house.

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