The Crisis Cast

In the last gasp before election day 2024, we're pulling back the curtain on political polling. Once again we welcome Rod McCulloch of Victory Research to our Crisis Cast chat room. We'll hear what's changed in polling over the long haul, and what's different about each of the last 3 Presidential elections. You'll learn about how pollsters deal with voter cynicism, what's REALLY wrong with negativ...

This week, we revisit a powerful conversation from Season 3 of The Crisis Cast. Listen in on the lessons learned from his forensic consortium .  Our guest, Paul Ciolino, convinced Governor George Ryan to rethink the death penalty in Illinois. Ciolino is a private investigator turned DNA expert who advocates for those wrongly convicted.  In this episode, Lissa & Thom dig into corrupt systems and th...

On Friday October 4 th  mass resignations from the CPS school board rocked Chicago's political landscape. Then on Monday October 7th, Mayor Brandon Johnson's made a quick turnaround to appoint new board members.   During this episode of the Crisis Cast municipal finance expert Paul Vallas joins Lissa & Thom to offer perspective and a dose of reality on the CPS turmoil. There have been months of st...

We've talked a lot about candidates on the 2024 ballot, but voters in seven Illinois counties are voting this fall on whether they'd like to become their own state.  23 counties have already said, "yes." During this episode, Thom Serafin talks with G.H. Merritt, the Chairman of  NEW Illinois. Merritt says this is not a divide between Democrats and Republicans. It is a movement that firmly states t...

At midnight, Monday September 23rd — ShotSpotter, the gun detection technology in place for more than six years in the city of Chicago was shut down as the contract expired. The city council voted to extend the contract, but Mayor Brandon Johnson exercised his veto power. During this episode, Lissa & Thom are joined by Chicago's 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale -- who advocates for the data that sa...

Time travel can be enlightening. During this trip through our show archives, we go back to the heals of the 2022 midterm elections. Paul Kendrick is the Executive Director of  Rust Belt Rising , a grass roots grooming organization for Democrats.   Their mission is training candidates and their organizations to connect with working families. During this episode of the Crisis Cast, Lissa & Thom prob...

Here's a conversation that is both predictive and reflective on the potency of debates. Lissa Druss & Thom Serafin are in our chat room examine the stakes for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in what may be their only Presidential debate. We'll ask the question, "Is the Commission on Presidential Debates obsolete?" Plus, how often has a single debate changed the outcome of an election. You'll hear s...

It's time to hear from a voice dedicated to writing Illinois' comeback story. Austin Berg has lived all over the Land of Lincoln, and is one of our state's most compelling change agents. During this episode, Lissa Druss and Thom Serafin get to the heart of how Austin engages action on governance issues, as VP of Marketing for the Illinois Policy Institute . Plus, you'll hear why public corruption...

During any crisis, the "cool" heads prevail. In this episode we'll cover some Chicago's most daunting and outrageous challenges -- like an airport bulldozed in the middle of the night. Forrest Claypool has held the highest leadership post at three of the most critical municipal institutions: the park district, the public schools, and the Chicago Transit Authority. Claypool is the author of The Dal...

During this episode, Lissa Druss and Thom Serafin lean in on one particular question. "What will the nationwide narrative on Chicago be following the 2024 Democratic National Convention?"   To get some answers, there's no better source than Rick Pearson, Chief Political Writer for the Chicago Tribune. Our conversation examines DNC conventions from the past: from the ancient history of '68 to the f...

Lissa & Thom have a ton on their mind. What's the Fed's next move on interest rates? How much fear has been stoked by the jobs report? What's Governor Tim Walz all about?  That's a ton to process, but we'll cover it all in rapid fire. Plus, a Crisis Cast primer on the state of Illinois' L-G-D-F. Gather round for a Crisis Cast Whiteboard on the issues that will  really  drive votes this election se...

Here comes some rare enlightenment from  two of Chicago's former police superintendents, in the same conversation. Thom Serafin welcomes Eddie Johnson & Garry McCarthy to share what everyone is missing about reducing crime in Chicago. They also reveal the statistics on the ShotSpotter systems that get buried in politics. Plus, you'll hear a real time reaction to the resignation of Secret Service D...

In this special edition of the Crisis Cast, Lissa Druss & Thom Serafin take us to Milwaukee and the floor of the RNC. Their guest is Richard Porter , a national committeeman for the Republican Party of Illinois.  Porter joined us moments after it was announced Ohio Senator J.D. Vance would be joining the Republican ticket as Donald Trump's running mate. During this episode, you'll get a peak behin...

  Lissa Druss is on assignment this week. Meanwhile, Thom Serafin digs into the trials and sentences of some key political figures like Mike Madigan and Ed Burke. Some of this lead straight to an intersection with the Chief Justice John Roberts' Supreme Court. Once again, we welcome Ray Long investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. The two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and author of "The Ho...

The firestorm that has engulfed 2024's first Presidential debate is still burning. We needed a cool head in the room, to consider the aftermath of President Joe Biden's performance vs. former President Donald Trump. That calming voice, came in the form of the Chicago Tribune's Ray Long .   During this episode, Lissa & Thom work through the complications of an aging White House with a much-lauded j...

Severe and sudden loss is how Kelly Richmond Pope realized her inner strength.  As an educator and entrepreneur, she has uncovered the truths inside fiscal fraud.   Her day job is teaching accounting forensics at DePaul University - but she is also the award-winning director of the documentary  All The Queen's Horses .   The film tells the story of the largest municipal embezzlement in U.S. histor...

The traditional broadcast world has endured a seismic shift or two – or ten. Steve Cochran has been in front of a microphone and up and down the dial for all of it. For the better part of three decades he's been a fixture on Chicago radio. That includes audio brands like WLUP, WMVP, WIND, WLS, and more than 16 years on WGN.    During this episode of the Crisis Cast, Cochran is quick to say that th...

From retail politics to sitting on the judicial bench, Aurelia Pucinski's life in public service is brimming with wisdom. This Crisis Cast flashback offers a fascinating glimpse into our legal system from a discussion that took place just a week prior to the now infamous 2020 election. Judge Pucinski references her presence on the ballot, and her second term on the Illinois Appellate Court now exp...

Allen Lynch spent his childhood in Chicago's south suburbs with fond memories of walks to his grandmother's house in Roseland. Lynch was often bullied, and at age 18, to test his strength he enlisted in the U.S. Army. That was 1964, and one year later the United States had troops on the ground in Vietnam. In 1966, Sgt. Allen Lynch began a tour of service that would earn him the Medal of Honor.   D...

Two presidential debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump are on the books. The first will be June 27 th  at CNN studios in Atlanta. It will have a unique nod to Chicago, because it will take place without an audience on a television set. That was the case in 1960, when WBBM-TV hosted John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon for the first-ever televised debate.   During this episode, Lissa Druss & Thom...

The timing of this conversation left us pondering pathways to change.  It was the spring of 2021, and occurred during the days surrounding the verdict in the killing of George Floyd, and the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Chicagoan Adam Toledo.   Renowned civil rights attorney Sheila Bedi joined Lissa and Thom to discuss her work surrounding the Chicago Police consent decree.  In this eye-opening e...

During this episode, a critical look at Illinois' strategic players with reporter Shia Kapos, author of Politico's morning newsletter: the Illinois Playbook. Shia offers up her definition of the city's new brand progressive politics. Lissa & Thom dig in on how she sees the City of Chicago responding to a summer full of global visitors. Plus, we get the scoop on whether Shia ever sleeps.

During this episode, we'll share the story behind a new film that documents the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. The documentary is called #NOVA , and it reveals the massacre of hundreds of psy-trance music enthusiasts at a festival on 10/7. Lissa Druss & Thom Serafin are in our chat room to hear the personal story of first responder Eran Masas. Plus, filmmaker Dan Pe'er and Alison...

Bears President Kevin Warren and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson gathered us all together for a presser on their "Dome By The Lake" on Wednesday. This struck our Crisis Cast crew as an odd rollout. Why was it shoe-horned into a space just prior to the NFL draft?    During this episode of the Crisis Cast, Lissa Druss & Thom Serafin ask the question – "Are the Bears just bluffing their intention to re...

Just two months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we had a fascinating conversation with Lissa's cousin, Daniela. She's a veteran journalist on the economic beat, based in Rome. Daniela gave us an early lesson in how the war reverberates very differently across Europe. At that point, Italians were caught in the middle, particularly because 50% of Italy's natural gas came from Russia. As the de...