The Real Story with Jeanne Ives and Amy Jacobson

Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan indicted on 22 counts; Jeanne Ives breaks down the criminal behavior by the political machine here in Illinois; Who has benefited from the tenure of the disgraced former speaker.

Kirk Allen, the co-founder of the Edgar County Watchdogs, joins us to dig deeper into the Madigan indictments and corruption rampant in Illinois;  Kirk points out the “Other” names in this indictment; How prevalent is corruption here in Illinois and how local it really is; Jeanne talks about the first bill she tried to pass.

As the convoy approached Illinois we saw the heavy hand of Governor JB Pritzker as he used the Illinois State Police to intimidate;   CPS ends controversial school rating, And a signature hotel in Chicago goes into foreclosure.

As the war rages in Ukraine, we welcome Dr. John Prunskis, Honorary Consul for Lithuania, to talk about international politics and the ramifications of Vladimir Putin’s aggressive posturing towards NATO. Next up we discuss issues of Ukraine and Russia with Stu Cvrk, writer for the Epoch Times, and talk about his article “Good Cop, Bad Cop: The Future of the Joint Russia-China Declaration”; We dive deep into the conflict that Russia has waged on the Ukrainian people; as well as the misinformation from both sides.

We welcome Illinois State Representative Andrew Chesney to the show as we get an update from Springfield and what exactly our elected officials are up to; The mask uproar in the legislature; Hot issue bills that are being voted on here at the end of the session;  Representative Chesney explains the absurdity of these bills.   With Russia invading Ukraine we break down the early news of what has happened; as well as some historical context stemming from the Cold War. Jeanne talks about her Military service in West Germany when the Berlin Wall fell; as well as a high school trip to Eastern Germany in 1981.

We welcome guests Tom Dobbertin and Rich Bennema to the studio for today’s discussion about the inconsistencies of the rules for our students; The punishments handed out to those students standing up to the administration; And how the teachers and school administrators have a blatant disregard towards due process. As well as a reaction to some State Representatives causing an uproar in Springfield; And the JCAR debacle.

Jeanne recaps the week, and what a whirlwind of a week it was;  A Governor doubling down, his administration tripling down, and local school districts showing full hypocrisy;  Glenbard District 87 Superintendent Larson says basketball games are safe because fans are "facing one direction", we call a Technical Foul on this claim.

Today we welcome Paul Vallas back to our show as we talk about what is going on in our schools. Joining him is Chris Warden, the Father of a Glenbard West student. This episode was broadcast live on February 11th, 2022.

As news spread across Illinois of the defeat of the Governors unlawful mandate some schools stand in defiance of a judge's order.  We interview Mallory, a student at Downers Grove North, and her father Tom, as she courageously stands up for her rights.  Mallory explains how the teachers and students are reacting, and how she has been treated.

Breakthrough Ideas wishes Kathleen Murphy luck as she was selected to run for Lt. Governor;  We break down the judicial ruling against Governor JB Pritzker, and Tom DeVore defeats the Governor's unlawful mandate;  And don't forget all those politicians that demanded you comply as they flaunt their own rules.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker gives his State of the State and Budget to a hand-picked crowd as State Legislators have the day off, but don’t worry, we have comments; Ted Dabrowski, President of Wirepoints.org, joins us for a discussion on the State of Illinois’ budget; and we talk with Andre Smith, Running for Cook County Commissioner, about the violence, crime and unequal justice his community faces every day.

Mom and activist Jessica Hockett aka Emma Woodhouse joins the show; An Aurora Teacher Caught Having Sex during a Zoom Class; Brownstone Institute Gives Pritzker a 'Complete Fail" worse than 'F' for his COVID handling, and Canadian Truckers protest the vaccine mandate.