Author Archives: Ken

About Ken

Ken's the host of Chicago Newsroom. A former news director, reporter and radio program host, he's also a past Vice President of the Chicago Headline Club.

CN March 28 2019

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Ken

Two discussions this week. Sarah Karp (WBEZ) leads off with her coverage of alternative schools and the significant role they play in boosting the graduation rate at CPS. Turns out that, although CPS has made important improvements in the past … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged Barack Obam, community benefits agreement. Jackson Park, CPS, Dr. Janice Jackson, graduation rates, Jawanza Malone, Leslie Hairston, PGA golf course, Sarah Karp | Leave a comment

CN March 21 2019

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Ken

Two separate discussion this week. First, journalist Audrey Henderson fills us in on the latest developments in the ongoing struggle to site an Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Henderson just wrote an extensive treatment of the process in Next … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged Audrey Henderson, Boeing Company, business support for Lightfoot, Casino gambling, Chicago Magazine, Next City, Obama presidential Center, Preckwinkle, Robert Reed | Leave a comment

CN March 14 2019

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Ken

It’s a double header this week as we’re visited first by the great Maya Dukmasova (Chicago Reader) and then by former Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. Dukmasova expresses some surprise at the strength of the resistance to two big votes yesterday … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged Ald. Scott Waguespack, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Chicago budget, Chicago Police Training Academy, Chicago Reader, Deb Mell, Joe Moore, Lesie Hairston, Lincoln Yards, Lori Lightfoot, Maya Dukmasova, Michelle Smith, Mille Santiago, Paul Vallas, Pension debt, Proco Joe Moreno, Rahm Emanuel, Richard Daley, Roberto Moldonado, Toni Preckwinkle | Leave a comment

CN March 7 2019

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Ken

Willie Wilson and Ja’Mal Green dropped by today for two separate interviews about the Mayor’s race, a bunch of Aldermanic races, Bernie Sanders and the role each of them is playing in this important period – after they didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged Ja'Ma Green, Lori Lightfoot, Toni Preckwinkle, Willie WI.liams | Leave a comment

CN February 28 2019

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Ken

Here’s our election wrap-up with talk host and political analyst Bruce DuMont and political activist Jacky Grimshaw, who was an advisor to Mayor Harold Washington. The journalists on our panel are two of Chicago’s most respected reporters – The Daily … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

CN Feb 21 2019

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Ken

The “March to Inevitability” edition Two of Chicago’s most knowledgeable political reporters join us this week for a head-spinning discussion about the crazy municipal election we’re all enduring. WGN-TV’s Tahman Bradley and the Daily Line’s Heather Cherone say there’s never … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged Are we seeing the"March to Inevitability" with Mayor Bill Daley taking office on May 15? Tahman Bradley (WGN TV) says maybe. @HeatherCherone, Bill Daley, early voting, election night, February 26 election, Garry McCarthy, Heather Cherone, Lori Lightfoot, mail-in ballots, Paul Vallas, Susana Mendoza, Tahman Bradley, Toni Preckwinkle, Willie Wilson | Leave a comment

CN Feb 14 2019

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Ken

In a searing suite of articles and digital posts over recent months, ProPublica Illinois’ Melissa Sanchez and WBEZ’s Elliott Ramos have laid out for us the particulars of the City’s program to punish “scofflaws” who fail to pay city … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged bankruptcy, city sticker fines, Driven Into Debt, Elliott Ramos, impounded cars, inability to pay, Melissa Sanchez, parking fines, Rahm Emanuel | Leave a comment

CN February 7 2019

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Ken

Our guest this week is Mayoral contender Bob Fioretti, the former alderman of the second Ward. Here are some highlights from our conversation: On the role Danny Solis played in carving up the second Ward, moving Fioretti’s Ward away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

CN January 24, 2019

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Ken

LaShawn Ford isn’t an alderman. But his Illinois State Representative district covers parts of three west side wards, and he sees first hand the ravages of disinvestment, poverty and violence. He feels so strongly about the need for radical … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged affordable housinhg, code of silence, consent decree, gentrification, LaShawn Ford, Police reform, tax reform, TIF funding | Leave a comment

CN January 17 2019

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Ken

Ben Joravsky’s not on the radio any more. He lost his popular radio show on WCPT in, let’s just say, an abrupt fashion. “About eight days before I was fired this fellow Pinsky called me in for a delicious … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago Newsroom past shows | Tagged Ben Joravsky, Chicago Mayoral election, Chicago Reader, WCPT firing | Leave a comment