John Williams

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, political pundit Marj Halperin, and long-time Chicago journalist Cate Plys, publisher of Roseland, Chicago: 1972. This week, the Rascals start the podcast discussing Northwestern University paying $75 million to the federal government over the next three years to to get federal funding reinstated. Do the Rascals believe Northwestern capitulated to Trump? Next, the Rascals break down the latest news about the military striking an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean on September 2nd. Do the Rascals believe a war crime was committed? Also, how about that Cabinet meeting yesterday? Turning to some local news, what’s going on with new capacity limits at the beloved Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza? And where are we on the Chicago budget? What will the city do to raise revenue? And as we motor towards the end of the year, it’s time to start thinking who is the Person of the Year for Chicago!

Captain Christine Coreano, Corps Officer, The Salvation Army Oakbrook Terrace, North and Central Illinois Division, joins John Williams to talk about her career in the Salvation Army, how food insecurity is an issue in every community, who their food programs serve, the reliance on food donations, their desire to meet every need in the community, some of the other services they offer, and their mission to break the cycle of poverty.

Your donations to The Salvation Army will help keep families in their homes, put food on their tables, and brighten the holidays for children. And all gifts stay local to the Chicagoland area. Last year, The Salvation Army provided nearly 1 million meals, 400,000 cases of emergency assistance, and over 160,000 bags of groceries to neighbors in need. Click here to donate to John’s kettle! Every donation counts!

Mortgage and real estate expert David Hochberg joins John Williams to talk about mortgage rates coming down a bit, if he thinks the Fed will cut interest rates later this month, how homes have appreciated in the area, how much credit card debt Americans are holding, why he insists on paying off credit card debt every Friday, and why he thinks a good mortgage rate would be in the 5’s.

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.

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

Clem Martin from Christ the King Jesuit College Prep joins John Williams on this Marquette Bank Giving Tuesday to talk about how long the school has been around, the students who make up Christ the King, where most of the students come from, the support they receive from Marquette Bank, and the unique Corporate Work Study Program where kids can earn a portion of their tuition costs while gaining valuable, life-changing skills. Also, the 18th Annual King of Hearts Gala on January 30th is at the Fairmont Millennium Park hotel. Find more details about that here.

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about what you can take to combat the common cold, the World Health Organization issuing the first-ever guidelines for use of GLP-1 weight loss medications, and what you can do to protect yourself from Norovirus.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about Northwestern University agreeing to pay $75 million to the Trump administration to restore frozen funding, and the controversy surrounding a Sept. 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean Sea. And don’t forget! You can still get tickets to Eric’s wonderful Christmas event, “Songs of Good Cheer” at the Old Town School of Folk Music!

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours 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. Mr. Fix It offers his suggestions to prevent porch pirates, and to give some tips on how to best prepare your home for winter.

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

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 November 2025 (and John likes these)! What was your favorite joke this month? Keep sending your jokes to [email protected]