John Williams

We are ‘Keeping it Green’ with Bob Bertog, president of Bertog Landscape Co. in Wheeling and a certified landscape professional with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, joins John Williams to answer all of your lawn and garden questions. 

Elder law attorney Kerry Peck joins John Williams to answer all your questions about elder law, trusts, wills, and elder abuse. 

Michelle Hoersch, Chief Planning Officer EngAging Illinois and Ryan Gruenenfelder, Senior Director of Advocacy and Outreach, AARP IL, join John Williams to talk about Illinois being designated as an ‘Age Friendly’ state, how Illinois became an age-friendly state, the 10-year plan to make Illinois a better place to age, what specific programs are making Illinois […]

Ron Traub, AARP Illinois Executive Council Member, and Neil James, Executive Director, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, join John Williams to talk about the importance of socially connected communities, what a livable and ‘age friendly’ community looks like, and what factors make a community livable.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about the health benefits of laughter, if flu season is starting earlier than normal, when doctors recommend getting MMR vaccine, his thoughts on Christina Applegate’s MS misdiagnosis, and to answer all of your medical questions.

Chicago-based jazz vocalist Paul Marinaro joins John Williams to talk about the upcoming holiday show with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra at City Winery!

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about Cook County’s advisory referendums on the ballot this election, his thoughts on the upcoming mayoral election, and why he favors ranked-choice voting.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou recommends buying a particular light bulb that might be the last light bulb you will ever buy. And as always, Lou answers all of your home improvement questions. Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday […]

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

Philippe Largent, State Director, AARP Illinois, joins John Williams to talk about the work he does with AARP, Illinois earning the ‘Age Friendly State’ designation, what is needed for people to age well, and the effort to make Illinois the most livable state for people as they get older.

Craig Bolanos, Founder and Wealth Advisor at VestGen Wealth Partners, joins John Williams to talk about  Air Canada canceling flights to the U.S due to low demand, if AI spending will translate into profits, the broadening of the stock market and why that’s good news, if he expects a Fed rate hike before the end of […]

Sara M. Krzyzaniak, MD, Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and assistant dean of graduate medical education, joins John Williams to talk about her career, when she became interested in emergency medicine, the personality type of a good ER doctor, her recent TED talk about AI and the future of […]

Connell McShane, anchor of ‘NewsNation Live with Connell McShane,’ joins John Williams to talk about the big trends surrounding the midterm elections. What are the big races that we should be paying the most attention to?

Enjoy this edition of “The Best of Speed Jokes.” What was your favorite joke of the week? Keep sending your jokes to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com!

Karen Kent, President of UNITE HERE Local 1, joins John Williams to talk about the biggest sticking point between hotel workers and the hotels, the current status of the negotiations, and the need for significant wage increases to compete with other cities.

36th Ward Alderman Gilbert Villegas joins John Williams to talk about Mayor Johnson’s proposed budget for 2027. Ald. Villegas tells John why he disagrees with Johnson about a corporate head tax, how raising taxes will ultimately be passed on to the consumer, and what he thinks the city needs to do to be more fiscally […]

Legendary sportswriter Peter King joins John Williams to discuss his new book, ‘The Game.’ Peter talks to John about his illustrious 40-year career covering the NFL, how the sport has changed throughout the years, how the game has surged in popularity since its humble beginnings, the way FOX reimagined covering the NFL, some of the […]

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, and Steve Bertrand, host of Steve Bertrand on Books and proprietor of Steve Bertrand Travel. The Rascals start the podcast talking about Vivek Ram...

We are ‘Keeping it Green’ with Bob Bertog, president of Bertog Landscape Co. in Wheeling and a certified landscape professional with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, joins John Williams to answer all of your lawn and garden questions. 

Carl Hulse, Chief Washington Correspondent, New York Times, joins John Williams to talk about how much he learned from covering local politics at the start of his career, what he sees as the biggest stories in the midterm elections, what states are likely to flip from R to D, why he’s paying close attention to […]

Michael O’Brien, Chicago Sun-Times High School Sports Editor, joins John Williams to preview the 2026 high school football playoffs. Who are the teams to beat in 8A and 7A? Michael offers some of his predictions.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com.