MR RADIO

Ben Joravsky Interviews by Dave Glowacz

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Ben Joravsky regularly writes on Chicago politics and government for the the Chicago Reader, and he authored the bestselling book Hoop Dreams. Each week Dave Glowacz rendezvous with Ben under a neighborhood el track to talk about Ben's latest column and reveal the rest of the story.

For interviews from past years click on one of these: 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007

5/10/12 “Mayor Emanuel's Dumping Ground?” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: Why border-situated land owners can have their land transferred to a suburb; whether landfills necessarily make for obnoxious neighbors; and Mayor Emanuel's calculus. Length 9.4 minutes. • To see a map of the 138th Street landfill area click here

4/26/12 “The Stand-up Guy” (AKA “The Man Who Wasn't Afraid of the Mayor”) • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: Who voted against the mayor's proposed infrastructure trust and why; why the early infrastructure trust investors might have gotten involved; and how the city council might end up voting on certain unique infrastructure deals. Length 12.4 minutes.

4/12/12 “The Mayor Has Big Plans for the City's Infrastructure Trust. Wish We Knew What They Were.” (AKA “The Trust Fund Mayor”) • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: Whether the proposed infrastructure trust must actually comply with Freedom of Information Act regulations; how the trust resembles other mayoral proposals; and why some aldermen seem to have rebelled. Length 12.4 minutes. • To see the proposed infrastructure trust ordinance click here

3/29/12 “How Rahm Emanuel Can 'Save' the Schools” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: What Mayor Emanuel knows about the school system or, for that matter, the city; why the mayor won't back down regarding a one-size-fits-all longer school day; and how Chicago Public Schools would find the funding for a longer school day. Length 7.7 minutes.

3/15/12 “What’s Really Going On in the Primary Elections” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: A state legislative district primer; the drama behind the mayor's endorsement in the 39th state rep district; and Ben's picks in the state Supreme Court primary. Length 10 minutes. • For a map of the Chicagoland state legislative districts click here

3/1/12 “My Property Tax Bill Is Defective—I Want a Refund!” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: How local government has already lost money on the NATO summit; a look at an older, and maybe better, form of Chicago school board; and a way to decrease reliance on property taxes. Length 8.1 minutes

2/23/12 “The Reader Goes to Charter School” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: How Ben and Mick ended up at a UNO school; why charters don't pay their teachers more; and why charters might reject the "public school" label. Length 5.2 minutes.

2/17/12 “Your NATO/G8 Primer” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: The appropriateness of World Business Chicago controlling a major city event; distinguishing WBC from a chamber of commerce; and whether the city council's revocation of its contract-approval power goes beyond the NATO/G8 summit. Length 6.2 minutes.

2/2/12 “With Library Cuts, Emanuel Turns the Page Backward” (AKA “The Sword Is Mightier Than the Pen”) • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: Why librarians have to work six days per week; whether library cuts really have to do with finance; and why Mary Dempsey has no peer in the Emanuel administration. Length 9.5 minutes.

1/19/12 “State Tax Break for the Merc Is More Laughable with Each Passing Day” • Click here to listen • Read the article • Description: Origin of the mythology around CME Group's tax-burden claim; the possible fairness of CME Group's existing income taxes; and trying to calculate the economic benefit per job. Length 9.5 minutes.