Rus Bradburd joins us to talk about his book, All the Dreams We've Dreamed: A story of Hoops and Handguns on Chicago's West Side. It is a story about sports, coaching, college recruitment, schools, gun violence and real folks, like Shawn Harrington. Shawn went to Chicago's storied Marshall High School.
Harrington, 41, was a Division II All-American at Northwest Missouri State, where he landed after playing at Mineral Area (Iowa) Junior College, then New Mexico State following graduation from Marshall in 1993.
His career as a basketball coach was cut short by a bullet as he covered his daughter and saved her life and who now sits in a wheel chair, tells as much about this city’s Black flight and transformation to a city for the rich, as any sociologist’s academic study.
Progressive political strategist and consultant Joanna Klonsky brings us up to date on the #MeToo Movement in Illinois' state capital. Greg Kelley, President of the midwest local of SEIU Healthcare talks about the labor response to the impending Janus decision and their experience with Harris v Quinn, where the court ruled against SEIU.
Our old friends, Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, join us to report on their trip to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice that opened recently in Montgomery Alabama. Our discussion covers issues of the criminal justice system in Chicago, gun violence, the CPS sexual abuse scandal and more. An hour talk among friends.
Brother Mike returns this week with our guest, polyglot Amara Enyia. Amara is a Chicago Renaissance Woman and Iron Woman. Enyia ran for Mayor last time around but hasn't found a candidate to support yet. She thinks Rahm is very beatable and we talk about a Progressive pathway to the Mayor's office.
With great friends in the studio, you hate for things to go wrong. Especially when your big brother is off for the week. The music didn't play. We almost lost the podcast version. Things turned out okay in the end. Brandon talks about his view of his role as a new Cook County Commissioner. Juanita Irizarry, Executive Director of Friends of the Parks talks about the Obama Presidential Center and the use of parks as a tool for democracy and as a weapon against poor folks and for gentrification.
Mike has just come back from a trip with Susan to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with their friends in Arapaho territory. They visited friends who run a language immersion school. I expressed concerns over state funding to retired teacher health care. And the Grassroots Collaborative's Nathan Ryan talks about the community organizing and political work going on in Chicago and downstate.
Ra Joy ran as Lt. Governor with Christopher Kennedy, losing to JB Pritzker in the Democratic primary. Joy is backing Lori Lightfoot for Mayor against a large and growing field. What makes a progressive a progressive? What is the role of the press in the election process? What do Democratic progressives have to say to the most oppressed, the victims of gun and police violence and the lack of economic development in communities of color?
The Chicago Public Schools has created an algorithm for families who are choosing a public school for their children. But this $250,000 no-bid deal is neither transparent no does it address the issues of race and segregation. Our guest is Dr. Charles Tocci of Chicago Loyola who recently wrote about this in the Washington Post. Can you include social justice in an algorithm?
Ralph Martire is the Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. We discuss school funding, fair taxation and the use of data in dealing with funding adequacy equity. Can you have equity without adequacy?
The Trauma Show. Author and journalist Mark Miller and University of Chicago professor Dr. Dexter Voisin join us to talk about the personal and institutional impact of trauma: From a Philadelphia Starbucks to Parkland, Florida to the west side of Chicago, how do we respond to trauma? On a individual level some can turn it into positive action. Others become paralyzed. What about the trauma of slavery or of capitalism? This is our topic on today's show.
Progressive political strategist Joanna Klonsky and Cook County Commissioner elect Brandon Johnson join us to talk about union democracy and the Red State Teacher Revolt and progressive politics in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois and the nation.
Author Pat Thomas joins the Klonsky Brothers to talk about his new book on Jerry Rubin. Did it! Yippie to Yuppie. Jerry Rubin, American Revolutionary. Then the brothers talk about schools, strikes and stuff.
Dr. Jeffreen Hayes and Dr. Therese Quinn join us for a conversation about the lack of representation of women and people of color on boards, management and curatorial positions in art museums and museums in general. #MuseumsSoWhite.
We talk about the Tuesday Illinois primary.
Looking back at the 1968 Rainbow Coalition of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords Organization and Students for a Democratic Society with Chicago leaders of all three organizations.
Jitu Brown is a long-time Chicago community, schools and social justice activist. Several years ago he led a successful hunger strike to prevent Rahm Emanuel's closing of Dyett High School on Chicago's south side. Now he is expanding his work nationally through his Journey for Justice. Kady McFadden, deputy director of Illinois' Sierra Club recently made headlines exposing the culture of sexual assault in Springfield.
The day after International Women's Day. Women led the wildcat strike in West Virginia. We are joined by Lorraine Forte, veteran Chicago African American woman journalist, newly hired to sit on the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board.
We spend some time talking about the teachers' strike in West Virginia and then it's all Marie Newman. Marie is running against an old blue dog Democrat and current incumbent congressman from the Illinois 3rd District, Dan Lipinski. Dan has never seen a bill defending women's reproductive choice that he likes. He is a son of the old Chicago Democratic Machine, it is time for a change and national attention has focused on this race. And Marie Newman seems to be the new face of the Democratic Party on the south west side of Chicago.
This week we talk about the issue of gun violence and then we turn to movies. The Oscars are coming up and The Black Panther is heading for a billion dollars at the box office. Dr. Kerns teaches film at Chicago's Columbia College and is an organizer of the Chicago Feminist Film Festival. Floyd Webb returns to our podcast. Floyd is an accomplished film maker, producer and writer of all things film. On the show he joins us in discussing the impact and the reaction to The Black Panther in the African American community.
Niketa Brar and Elizabeth Greer are school and community activists fighting to prevent the closing of the National Teachers Academy. Scott Smith is from the south side 19th Ward and a member of the Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative. Our conversations centers on school closings. We start out with talk about the tragedy of school shootings.
Marijka Stoll fills us in on the protests by students, faculty and alumni at the University of Chicago over their invite to Steve Bannon. Bill Ayers and Crystal Laura talk about teaching, learning and unions and their book with Rick Ayers, You Can't Fire the Bad Ones, 18 myths about teachers, teacher unions and public education.
We don't usually broadcast on Wednesdays. But we did today and had a great conversation with Anne Shaw, attorney and candidate for the 4th State Representative on Chicago's north west side. Her dad knew Martin Luther King in Atlanta as a wrestling coach. Her dad, that is. Not Martin Luther King.
After some conversation about the week's events - Trump, Rahm, Stormy Daniels, Fairfax high school basketball - we turn to the story of Eddie Balchowsky. Eddie was a pre-mature anti-fascist, volunteer of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. 3,0000 American volunteers went to Spain to support the Republic fight against insurgent fascist generals backed by Hitler. Half came home. Eddie came home without an arm.
We talk about Paul Vallas. Or brother Michael does. Vallas has left everything he touches in shatters and now he wants to be Mayor of Chicago. Oy vey. Most of the hour is spent talking with Aaron Goldstein, 33rd Ward Democratic Party Committeeman and candidate for Illinois Attorney General. A real progressive.
On this episode of Hitting Left on the eve of the second Women's March, we welcome disabilities advocate and activist, Amber Smock.