Welcome to the May 2025 edition of the Chicago Power Poll podcast with Thom Serafin. Our power pollers have spoken their minds on 5 new topics. Joining Thom, once again, is veteran Chicago political journalist Mike Flannery We also welcome special guest John Dempsey, an award-winning Chicago journalist who has graced the newsrooms of WBEZ, Fox32, WBBM NewsRadio, WMAQ, and WLS-AM. John is now the host of the podcast "What Does It Mean?"

This month, we asked our Power Pollers to answer these questions:

• What's the best way for Chicago to welcome Pope Leo XIV, the next time he visits his hometown?

• Should Chicago police be authorized to issue "snap curfews" for teens?

• How would you rate Mayor Brandon Johnson's relationship with the city's business community?

• What concerns do you have about the current federal funding freeze on research at universities like Northwestern?

• Rate the effectiveness of Mayor Johnson's efforts to secure state funds for the City of Chicago.

Thom, Mike, and John will share our Power Poll results and get into their analysis of the answers here on this month's episode.