The Fran Spielman Show

Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman is joined by her colleagues, Sun-Times' chief political reporter Tina Sfondeles and WBEZ's political reporter Dan Mihalopoulos to recap Tuesday's historic Mayoral election.

David Axelrod has helped to elect mayors, senators and the nation’s first Black president. While not ready to “write the epitaph” of incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot, he said: “She definitely has a very, very steep uphill climb.”

On the November day when Garcia finally entered the race, he told the Sun-Times that he would love to unite the progressive movement had has championed for a lifetime, but he was prepared to go it alone if it was too late for that in the first round of the mayoral sweepstake. He expressed confidence that he could force Lightfoot or someone else into a runoff and that the progressive family would r...

It’s a good thing former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas has developed a “thick hide” in over 40 years in public service. He needs it—and a flak jacket—with all of the political heat he is getting in the nine-way race for mayor of Chicago. “I’m the frontrunner. That’s the reason. They know I’ve got momentum. They know I’m rising in the polls. They know that I’m a threat. And this time, they...

Veteran Chicago Police Detective Bob Bartlett is trying to unseat the fiery union president who has gone toe to toe with Mayor Lori Lightfoot over all things law enforcement in a feud that paused, only long enough to deliver an eight-year police contract. Like Catanzara, Bartlett is no fan of Lightfoot or her handpicked Police Superintendent David Brown. He wants to see both of them gone. But, Bar...

Mayoral challenger Sophia King (4th) has a grand plan to breathe new life into a Chicago Public School System that has been hemorrhaging students — with more than 82,000 students lost over the last decade. It builds on the plan she has already announced to deliver Chicago from violent crime.

Mayoral challenger Brandon Johnson, the Cook County Commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizer, came out swinging against Garcia and would not commit to supporting Garcia—and re-uniting the fractured family of progressives—if Garcia makes it to the runoff and Johnson doesn’t.

Retiring Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th) joined Sun-Times City Hall reporter on Wednesday to discuss his storied career and who he is endorsing for Mayor of Chicago.

Mayoral challenger Ja’Mal Green on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping public safety plan to confront the violent crime that is foremost on the minds of Chicago voters. His bold plans call for creating: a “universal” pre-school program for three-year-olds; 10,000, year-round apprenticeships program for young people between the ages of 13 and 25 and making Lightfoot’s guaranteed minimum income pilot a perm...

Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman is joined by Sun-Times chief polical reporter Tina Sfondeles and WBEZ state and government reporter Dave McKinney to recap the top stories of 2022.

Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman is joined by reporter and columnist Mark Brown and investigative reporter Tim Novak to discuss the long history of the indicted alderperson's relationship with power and the City Council amid his decision to not seek reelection.

Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman is joined by attourney Burt Odelson, who lends his extensive experience in Chicago election law to explain petition challenges, which tend to whittle down the broad field of candidates ahead of Election Day.

Portraying himself as the “coalition-builder” Chicago needs, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Illinois) will join the crowded race for mayor on Thursday determined to defeat incumbent Lori Lightfoot with or without his life-long allies in the Chicago Teachers Union.

In a soul-searching interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, former Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1st) talked about going into his own tailspin after failing to talk a beloved friend and precinct captain out of committing suicide. He talked about being haunted forever by the gun-shot he heard during that phone call with 1st Ward laborer Joe Muntaner on Mother’s Day, 2017.

The Cook County commissioner said he is running because incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot has failed progressives. “The hopes and desires of working families have been ignored,” Johnson told the Sun-Times.

A former Chicago Public Schools CEO, Vallas said he has $1.82 million in cash on hand after a modest third-quarter of fundraising and a “significant spike” in contributions after the Sept. 30 deadline that has added $782,000 and counting to his campaign fund. By the end of the month, he expects to top $2 million and surge past that once the Nov. 26 filing deadline has passed and petition challenge...

Ald. Matt Martin (47th) urged the City Council on Thursday to shake off its rubber stamp reputation and become the truly independent legislative body it was meant to be. Last month, Martin boldly introduced a resolution that calls for promoting himself from vice-chair of the Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight to chair, replacing now retired-chair Michele Smith (43rd).

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $242 million pension pre-payment plan will prevent Chicago’s four cash-strapped pension funds from having to “sell assets in a down market,” but it cannot let Springfield off the hook, the Civic Federation president said Tuesday. Laurence Msall said state law was used to create the police, fire, laborers and municipal employees pension funds and the Il. General Assembly dict...

Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman is joined by long-time Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to discuss his storied political career ahead of his upcoming retirement.

Why does a 32-year-old man insist on being called “Timmy”? Because the name was part of an emotional and potentially high-risk “coming out” process for newly-appointed Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd). It happened when he graduated law school and joined the buttoned-down Chicago law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman that, he was not at all certain, would welcome an openly gay attorney. “I’ve been Timmy my w...

Ramsey Lewis, the iconic jazz pianist and composer who went on to become a musical legend and Chicago’s gift to the world, died this week at the age of 87. On Thursday, his son joined Welz Kauffman, former president and CEO of the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, to pay tribute to the man whose musical achievements and educational legacy will be difficult to duplicate.

The Chicago Bears have had preliminary talks with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, state legislators and village trustees in Arlington Heights about the infrastructure help they need to support a $5 billion “stadium-anchored development” and nobody has thrown them for a loss, retiring President Ted Phillips said Friday.

Since arriving from Detroit three years ago, Planning and Development Commissioner Maurice Cox has been laser-focused on delivering Lightfoot’s mayor’s signature plan to leverage $750 million in “re-prioritized” public money already in the pipeline” to lure private investment not seen in decades. With the first Invest South/West project finally under construction in Auburn/Gresham and a groundbrea...

A former teacher and an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson told the Sun-Times he is “humbled by and grateful for the vote of confidence” from working people urging him to run for mayor and he’s “listening.” He promised a final decision in the next few weeks.

Ald. Sophia King (4th) said Thursday she will “not be bullied” out of the race for mayor of Chicago by fears that, with seven Black candidates and a diminished African-American vote, the Black community risks “losing it all.”