The John Howell Show Podcast

*ABC News' Jordana Miller reports from Jerusalem after US and Israeli reps met in Latvia about Ukraine.

*Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin discusses the state of the city's finances and previews her State of the Treasurer's Office Address.

*Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter Tim Novak details how Mike Madigan's Chinatown scheme is a big piece of his indictment.

*Former CIA operative Douglas London tells John how he analyzes Putin's decision making from an international intelligence perspective.

*Plus John Ramey, founder of The Prepared describes how recent events have led more people to join the prepper community.

Former House Speaker Madigan's charges involving ComEd have gotten the most attention but he allegedly had plans for Chinatown also. Chicago Sun-Times Investigative Reporter Tim Novak dives deep into the details with John Howell.

Has Vladimir Putin gone mad or is he being fed the wrong information? Former CIA Operative and Author Douglas London joins John Howell to discuss. Get his book here: https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/douglas-london/the-recruiter/9780306847325/

*Tom Nichols of The Atlantic advises rooting against an escalation of hostilities with Russia, even if things get worse.

*Josh Siegel, energy reporter for Politico tries to determine why the Biden administration is going easy on Russia's energy industry.

*Mark Konkol calls out J.B. Pritzker for his $7million connection to Mike Madigan, calling it the 'elephant in the room.'

*Georgia State Law Professor Eric Segall discusses whether or not it was time for Neil Gorsuch to leave the Supreme Court.

*Plus, Josh Nelson of Sox Machine brings John up to date on the state of the MLB lockout, and the serial stowaway pleads guilty.

With Former House Speaker Mike Madigan finally charged, people are beginning to look into his remaining constituents and others that were close to him. Governor Pritzker donated $7M to Madigan's "Democratic Majority" campaign fund back in 2018 but has not been charged or incriminated in any way. Patch Writer Mark Konkol joins John to discuss.

As tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine, many people are asking for other countries to intervene for the atrocities already committed by Putin. As of now, the US has not announced any intention of intervening. The Atlantic Writer Tom Nichols joins John Howell to discuss.

Former House Speaker Madigan was indicted Wednesday on federal racketeering charges alleging his elected office and political operation were a criminal enterprise that provided financial rewards for him and his associates. Madigan has denied all allegations. Chicago Tribune Investigative Reporter Ray Long joins John with an update. Get Rays new book here: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=68qcg2pd9780252044472

Richard Boykin announced he will run against Toni Preckwinkle for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Boykin is a former Cook County Board Commissioner so critics expect a close race. He joins The John Howell Show to discuss why he's running and and what he aims to accomplish in office.

*Better Government Association enterprise reporter Rachel Hinton shares her thoughts on the indictment of Michael Madigan

*Bradly Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies breaks down how the West could help the people of Ukraine on the battlefield.

*Former U.S. Secretary of State Arne Duncan tells John why he feels his best chance to stop violence in Chicago is to stay away from a mayoral run.

*Mike Emanuel of Fox News stops by for his weekly hit to react to President Biden's State of the Union.

*Plus, Steve Dolinsky gives John the details for his upcoming "Pizza City Fest", featuring 39 of the region's best pizza-makers.

"I am following my heart and there are pros and cons to that but I couldn't stomach walking away from this work right now when it's so critically important for the city." explains Former US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. He joins John Howell to share why he will not be running for Mayor.