Advertise on podcast: The Fran Spielman Show

Host Fran Spielman discusses Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed $17.6 billion Chicago budget with Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) and Civic Committee President Derek Douglas.

Host Fran Spielman interviews newly appointed Chicago Inspector General David Glockner about his background, decades as a federal prosecutor under Patrick Fitzgerald, and lessons from major corruption cases including Rod Blagojevich, as well as his later compliance work helping Commonwealth Edison implement controls after the Madigan-related scandal. Glockner describes the IG’s role as delivering uncomfortable but objective facts and recommendations, says his relationship with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office has been constructive so far, and explains why he’s prioritizing operational areas like city procurement, CPD overtime, and accountability for violence-intervention funding rather than revisiting the revised parking meter deal.

Fran Spielman interviews Chicago City Council Finance Committee Chair Pat Dowell about a newly approved parking meter transfer agreement. Dowell argues the added revenue should be placed in a lockbox to help reduce the city’s $36 billion pension liability over the remaining 57 years.

Fran Spielman interviews Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s senior advisor Jason Lee about Johnson’s path to reelection, defending his record, and navigating City Council and union tensions. Lee argues the election will hinge on whether working people or wealthy corporate interests control the city, citing claims of historic public-safety improvements, expanded mental health services, major developments, and 31,000 youth jobs.

In an interview with Fran Spielman, Chicago Alderman Michael Rodriguez, chair of the City Council’s Committee on Workforce Development, announces he will not seek re-election in the 22nd Ward, citing a desire to be more present for his family while continuing as Democratic committeeperson and staying active in community organizing. He highlights accomplishments including the Fair Workweek ordinance, a paid leave policy, wage gains for tipped workers, and support for violence reduction efforts, noting violence declines in Chicago and Little Village.

Fran Spielman interviews Chicago lobbyist and first-time candidate John Kelly about his run for mayor. Kelly says Chicago is in decline due to crime, high taxes, failing schools, and poor leadership, arguing residents don’t trust official crime stats and calling for restoring ShotSpotter, hiring 1,000 more police officers, shortening the police academy timeline, and cutting the mayor’s security detail to bolster CTA safety. He discusses firefighter concerns about equipment shortages and a need for more ambulances, suggesting budget reprioritization and possible private sponsorship.

Fran Spielman interviews Congressman and mayoral candidate Mike Quigley, beginning with Cubs and hockey talk before turning to his Lake Michigan suit jump meant to highlight sewage control, shoreline restoration, and invasive-species threats. Quigley explains why he’s running for mayor now, citing fiscal, housing, public safety, and CPS crises, and argues the next mayor must make tough choices without worrying about reelection; he defends running for Congress and mayor concurrently and outlines fundraising and campaign plans.

Fran Spielman interviews political strategist and CNN analyst David Axelrod, who discusses widespread public disillusionment with politics and previews Chicago’s upcoming mayoral race after Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias enters with major funding and front-runner scrutiny.

In an interview with Fran Spielman, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias explains why he is running simultaneously for re-election and for mayor of Chicago, arguing that money alone doesn’t win elections and that voters will judge records and vision. He touts modernizing the Secretary of State’s office by moving services online and eliminating DMV wait times, and criticizes Mayor Brandon Johnson for leadership turnover, credit downgrades, weak coalition-building with City Council and Springfield, and a failed property tax push. Giannoulias outlines priorities including improving public safety, adding 1,000 officers by 2030, bringing back ShotSpotter, streamlining city bureaucracy, centralizing procurement to save money, and pursuing revenue options such as a Springfield-enabled millionaires tax while opposing a corporate head tax.

Fran Spielman interviews Chicago Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda and Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th) about competing renter-protection proposals as rents rise and landlord ownership becomes less transparent. Castañeda backs Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO), citing skyrocketing rents, corporate consolidation, and the need for a rental registry, expanded inspections and landlord services, just-cause protections to curb 10,000 annual no-fault evictions, and relocation assistance for certain no-fault displacements. Villegas supports an alternative packaged as the FAIR ordinance, agreeing on an annual registry but arguing PRO adds bureaucracy, creates unfunded mandates that will raise rents, and risks litigation; he emphasizes increasing housing supply, cutting red tape, and tiering obligations by landlord size.

Fran Spielman interviews Chicago Civic Federation president and former inspector general Joe Ferguson about the pending sale of Chicago Parking Meters LLC’s remaining 57 years to Stone Peak Partners, which City Council must authorize by Sept. 30. Ferguson says the city has limited leverage and should negotiate marginal contract improvements—especially reducing “true-up” reimbursements—rather than reject the transfer and risk lawsuits, financial damages, and reputational harm.

Fran Spielman interviews Ald. Marty Quinn of Chicago’s 13th Ward, who announces he will not seek re-election after four terms and 15 years on the City Council, citing the demands and unpredictability of ward service, sacrifices to family life, and readiness for new challenges with no job lined up. Quinn reflects on the council’s evolution from a seniority- and ward-focused body under Rahm Emanuel to a more legislative, independent, and coalition-driven council under Lightfoot and Johnson, including opposition to Johnson’s head tax and last year’s budget coalition.

Fran Spielman interviews attorney Matthew Brewer, former interim CHA CEO and current board chair, who announces his first run for Chicago mayor and argues Brandon Johnson has made residents feel unseen, framed false either/or choices between business and communities, and failed at collaborative leadership amid agency vacancies and budget conflicts.

Fran Spielman interviews Dr. Lisa Nee, a Chicago-born cardiologist and MBA who is preparing to run for mayor to deny Brandon Johnson a second term, arguing voters want a non-insider with real-life experience. She recounts whistleblowing at the Hines VA over unread cardiac tests, facing retaliation while pregnant, and later helping secure bipartisan protections, while also battling breast cancer and returning to health.

Fran Spielman interviews Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza about her renewed bid for Chicago mayor, revisiting her 2019 loss and associations with Ed Burke and Mike Madigan, which she says she condemned. Mendoza calls Mayor Brandon Johnson’s tenure a “blizzard of incompetence,” citing credit downgrades, heavy borrowing, TIF “raids,” staffing vacancies, and strained Springfield relations, and says she’d impose fiscal discipline, consider workforce reductions, stop using TIFs for operations, hire more police, restore ShotSpotter, and improve police-community trust.