John Williams

The great anthem singer Jim Cornelison joins John Williams to talk about his rendition of the national anthem on a recent Monday Night Football game between the Bears and Vikings that broke the internet. Jim will be singing this weekend with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. An Opera Afternoon with Jim Cornelison will be on September 28th and you can get tickets here.

Joie Chitwood, Executive Director for the Presidents Cup 2026, joins John Williams to tell us everything we need to know about the 2026 Presidents Cup golf tournament coming to Medinah Country Club next September. You can get your tickets now by clicking here!

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

NewsNation Now anchor Connell McShane joins John Williams to tell us what we should know about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. Connell also gives us the latest on ICE agents being seen on the Chicago River and the Trump administration linking Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism.

Melinda Linas, Chief of Police, Lindenhurst Police Department, tells John about her career in law enforcement, her 25 years with the Chicago Police Department, when she started working in Lindenhurst, the importance of community engagement, how people in Lindenhurst are so welcoming, the size of the police force in Lindenhurst, the way this job is different than her job in Chicago, the biggest challenges she faces in Lindenhurst, and how it’s a community rooted in pride.

Elder law attorney Kerry Peck joins John Williams to answer all your questions about elder law, trusts, wills, and elder abuse. 

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 the Hoosier state and visit with Ken Kosky, Executive Director, Festival Country Indiana! Ken talks about where Festival Country Indiana is located, what the area is like, the towns that make up Festival Country, the big festivals happening this fall, the best places to eat and drink, the unique and interesting places you can stay when you visit, and the other must-do activities for the season. Click here for a chance to win a fall escape to Festival Country Indiana!

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

After 4 weeks of voting on 64 local burger businesses, the inaugural Chicago Area’s Best Burgers Tournament, sponsored by Turano Baking Company and The Puckered Pickle Company, has its champion.

The announcement was made on The John Williams Show, as Chicago’s Very Own Eats co-host and WGN Radio bracketologist Michael Piff joined John to call the winner live. Listen to hear the announcement below:

Congrats to Nick’s Tavern of Lemont for winning the championship and taking home the Chicago Area’s Best Burgers Tournament crown!

We thank both Nick’s and Smash’D, as well as their communities, for making this championship week so fun to follow. We also thank the rest of our field of 64 Chicago area burger places for being good sports and helping us with promoting local businesses.

Hear more about the tournament and all things Chicago food by subscribing to Chicago’s Very Own Eats on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. All episodes are available on the Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast page at WGNRadio.com.

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast talking about Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late night after a brief suspension. What did the Rascals take away from Kimmel’s monologue? Next, the Rascals discuss the Trump administration linking autism to the use of Tylenol during pregnancy. Today, there was a fatal shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas. And new information is coming out about the fatal shooting by an ICE agent in Franklin Park. The Rascals react to the incidents. Alderman Timmy Knudsen is proposing an ordinance that would allow restaurants to decide if they want to allow dogs. Where are the Rascals on this? Are they in favor of this ordinance? And finally, it’s time for red light, yellow light, green light! What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week!