Meet Your Alderman

We welcome 26th Ward alderperson Jessie Fuentes to the podcast. We talk to her about her prior community engagement work, her policy priorities in Council, and great places to visit the 26th Ward. You can find your alderman at this link . Follow us on Twitter/X @TweetUrAlderman.

We welcome 48th ward alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth to the podcast to kick off the new season. We talk to her about her first year at City Hall and her policy priorities for this session. You can find your alderman here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/iframe/lookup_ward_and_alderman.html

On the final episode of our Meet Your Government Miniseries, Hannah Bernick interviews 2nd-year MPP student Kristina Matysik and our co-host Eric Geber about Chicago's City Council: how it operates vs. how it was intended to operate, and how it stacks up against other cities. Special thanks to Eric and Kristina's teammates: Jayson Cayanan, Meredith Gavin, Colin Maloney, and Julian Varo.

Sarah and Jeff talk to Tina Hone, one of two runoff candidates for alderman of the 5th Ward. Be sure to check out the interview with the race's other candidate, Desmon Yancy here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-14-desmon-yancy-candidate-for-the-5th-ward/id1608576910?i=1000605362524 Link to Tina's campaign website: https://hone5thward.com/ Follow us on Twitter (@TweetUrAlderman) and...

Sarah and Eric talk to Desmon Yancy, one of two runoff candidates for 5th ward alderman. Be sure to check out our interview with the other candidate, Tina Hone, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-15-tina-hone-candidate-for-the-5th-ward/id1608576910?i=1000605712332 Link to Desmon Yancy's campaign website: https://www.yancyforthe5th.com/ Follow us on Twitter ( @TweetUrAlderman ) and...

Sarah and Eric talk to Heather Cherone, political reporter for WTTW and current Prtizker Fellow at the Institute of Politics. Heather provides the inside scoop on the upcoming mayoral and aldermanic elections in the city. If you've got any questions about the election or just Chicago politics in general, this episode is for you. For a comprehensive guide on the Mayoral and City Council Candidates:...

Sarah and Eric sit down with David Axelrod to talk all things Chicago. They covered the city's 2023 elections, David's career in journalism and political campaigns, and the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics. For a comprehensive guide on the Mayoral and City Council Candidates: https://news.wttw.com/elections/voters-guide/2023?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=adword...

On this episode of our Meet Your Government Miniseries, Jeff Bittle talks to Jack Carey and Evan Eising about the city's massive municipal budget: what goes into it, how its crafted, and how the process could be made better. Special thanks to Jack and Evan's teammates: Gabby Meyers, Tomo Yano, and Jiae Myung

Kristan Wong Karinen talks to Oswaldo Gomez about the community engagement (and community organizing) landscape in Chicago. Oswaldo Gomez currently serves as the Vice President of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. Special thanks to Tatum McCormick and Anna Kenig-Ziesler, the other members of the Community Engagement team of the Chicago Governance policy lab.

An interview with Molly Smith, who joins us to talk about what police accountability looks like in Chicago and how the city stacks up against other US cities. Molly Smith is a Master of Public Policy Candidate at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. She is also the Editor-In-Chief of the Chicago Policy Review. Special acknowledgement goes to Ally Hardebeck, Quinn Kelly, Emilia...

An interview with Joe Ferguson, former IG for the city of Chicago and Founding Executive Director of (re)Chicago . This is the first installment of our new mini-series “Meet You Government."

The Meet your Alderman team is happy to announce the launch of our new mini-series that doesn’t include any Aldermen: Meet Your Government This series will explore the key systemic faults in Chicago’s local government as they relate to four important areas: police accountability, the budget, community engagement, and city council. Take a listen for more information and keep an eye out for new epis...

Eric and MYA's newest member Jeff Bittle talk to Carlos Ramirez-Rosa of the 35th Ward Acronyms : COPA: Civilian Office of Police Accountability ECPS: Empowering Communities for Public Safety CPAC: Civilian Police Accountability Council GAPA: Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability Links : COPA Website: https://www.chicagocopa.org/ COPA Phone Number: 312-746-3609 Ward Website: https://www.car...

Sarah and Eric talk to Raymond Lopez of the 15th Ward Links: Information about the SAFE-T Act: https://icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/articles/the-2021-safe-t-act-icjia-roles-and-responsibilities Ward Website: https://www.the15thward.org/ Ward webpage (City of Chicago website): https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/wards/15.html Want to know who YOUR alderman is? Find more information here: https:...

Sarah and Eric talk to Nicole Lee of the 11th Ward Links 11th Ward Website: https://www.ward11.org/ 11th Ward page (City of Chicago website): https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/wards/11.html Chinese American Service League (CASL): https://www.caslservice.org/ Article about the Near South Side CPS School: https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/07/19/near-south-side-cps-high-school-a-step-closer-to-re...

Sarah and Eric look back on the first season of Meet Your Alderman and discuss what they’ve learned about Chicago politics, making a podcast, and the endurance required to withstand the endless rounds of editing. Plus, they look ahead and speculate what’s in store for Season 2 and beyond—but not before Sarah takes a dig at Chicago deep dish.

Sarah and Eric interview the 25th Ward's Alderman, Byron Sigcho-Lopez LINKS 25th Ward Website: https://www.25thward.org/ 25th Ward Webpage (City of Chicago): https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/wards/25.html Information about “The 78”: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/the-78.html Information about the new ward maps: https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/05/16/chicagos-controversia...

Sarah and Eric interview Alderman Harry Osterman of the 48th Ward. 48th Ward website: http://48thward.org/ 48th Ward webpage (city of Chicago): https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/wards/48.html INFORMATION REGARDING CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF THE CPD: Information on the ECPS ordinance: https://southsideweekly.com/a-step-toward-community-control-of-the-police/# :~:text=The%20ECPS%20ordinance%20will%20...

An interview with the 40th Ward's Alderman Andre Vasquez In the episode, we mention Alderman Vasquez's article on scooters - here's the link if you'd like to read more about his plans for green transportation! https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/2/8/22924003/chicago-e-scooter-program-equity-jobs-andre-vasquez-other-views Interested in learning more? Check out a map of the 40th ward here: https://app...

Sarah and Eric interview Alderman Michael Rodriguez of the 22nd Ward. Haga clic en el enlace para la entrevista en Español (Link to the Spanish transcript): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1prCnDlY3PhhdeK59Drjjy95Hv4t1OjiMgxVi7YkX220/edit?usp=sharing Interested in learning more? Check out these sites for more info about the 22nd ward. 22nd Ward website: https://www.22ndward.org/ 22nd Ward Page...

An interview with the 49th Ward's Alderwoman Maria Hadden. Interested in learning more? Check out a map of the 49th ward here: https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/general/document_4026.pdf Ward 49's official page: https://www.49thward.org/ Want to know who YOUR alderman is? Find more information here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/iframe/lookup_ward_and_alderman.html ACRONYMS...

Sarah and Eric interview Alderwoman Leslie Hairston of Chicago's 5th Ward. Interested in learning more? Check out a map of the 5th ward here: https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/general/document_3982.pdf Ward 5's official page: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/about/wards/05.html Want to know who YOUR alderman is? Find more information here: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/iframe...

What is an "Alderman"? What is the political machine? Who are the Daleys? In our first episode, we give listeners a glimpse into the history of Chicago Politics. Interested in learning more? Check out an encyclopedia of Chicago here: http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/ and a documentary about Richard J. Daley, Former Mayor of Chicago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKWjeTdw-0E&t=830s&ab_chann...