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, political pundit Marj Halperin, and longtime Chicago journalist Cate Plys! This week the Rascals start the podcast talking about the seamless certification of the 2024 election. Wasn’t it nice to not have an insurrection this time around? On to the Mike Madigan corruption trial. This week, Madigan to took the stand in his own defense. What do the Rascals think of Madigan taking the stand? President-elect Donald Trump said this week that he wouldn’t rule out using force to acquire Greenland. Do the Rascals think that this is just Trump being Trump? Or is this something we need to be paying attention to? A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for The Washington Post resigned after the newspaper’s opinions section rejected a cartoon depicting The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, genuflecting toward a statue of President-elect Donald J. Trump. Do the Rascals believe this is censorship? Cate thinks the cartoon was lousy and should have been rejected on merit alone. Also, Meta announced that they will phase out their fact-checking program. Do the Rascals believe this is a good idea? And finally, it’s time for Rascals Recommendations! What are the Rascals watching and reading?

Mortgage and real estate expert David Hochberg joins John Williams to talk about the ban on the inclusion of medical debt in credit scoring, and why mortgage interest rates are at a level not seen since 2001.

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.

Austin Berg, Vice President of Marketing, Illinois Policy Institute, joins John Williams to talk about former Speaker of the House Michael Madigan testifying in his corruption trial. Austin was ‘shocked’ that Madigan took the stand. Austin gives us some of the other key takeaways from Madigan’s first and second day on the stand.

Nicholas Grossman, Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois, joins John Williams to talk about President-elect Donald Trump refusing to rule out using military or economic action to pursue acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland. Are Greenland and the Panama Canal important to U.S. interests?

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

Dr. Santina Wheat, family medicine physician at Northwestern Medicine, joins John Williams to talk about the amount of flu she’s seeing, how the flu differs from the norovirus, how long you are contagious when you have norovirus, and what you can do to help you recover from norovirus.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about President-elect Trump saying he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and other claims from his press conference this morning, Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan planning to testify in his own defense at his corruption trial, and Meta announcing they will end their fact-checking program.

Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and host of “The Alpha Wealth Hour” on WGN Radio, joins John talk about the economic concern that is sticking around that is making it tougher for the market, why he’s still positive on the market, what tax issues we need to be aware of, and the importance of people sticking with their investment plan.

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 December! What was your favorite joke this month? And stay tuned for the 2024 Joke of the Year! And as always, John brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected].

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL 8) joins John Williams to talk about the Jan. 6th anniversary, the certification of the 2024 election, why today will be emotional for him, his thoughts on President-elect Trump saying he will pardon the insurrectionists, the importance of the peaceful transition of power, and the 2025 agenda for the Democratic party.