John Williams

Dr. Joel Ostrow, professor, comparative and international politics, Benedictine University, joins John Williams to discuss the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the support given to Ukraine by the United States, the loss of life on both sides of this war, and why the U.S. and Germany can’t come to an agreement about what types of […]

Journalist and best-selling author A.J. Jacobs joins John Williams to talk about his recent piece in the New York Times where he attempted to go 24 hours without using plastic. His latest book is “The Puzzler: One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life.”

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!

Attorney Rae Kaplan (America’s student debt expert!) of Kaplan Law Firm joins John Williams to talk about the latest changes that you should be aware of regarding the Biden administration's student loan debt relief program

Author and food and nutrition expert Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about flavored water, if plant-based burgers are healthy, and to offers some tips to combat stress eating. And Dawn answers all of your food and nutrition questions.

Best-selling author Brad Meltzer joins John Williams to discuss his new book, “The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill.”

U.S. Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL5) joins John Williams to talk about The U.S. government hitting its borrowing limit and what will happen if there is no agreement between Republicans and Democrats in Congress to raise the debt ceiling.

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

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. With this unseasonably mild weather, your plants are probably confused, but you shouldn’t be! Let Bob put you at ease.

Tom Appel, Publisher, Consumer Guide Automotive, and host of the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast, joins John Williams to answer all of your questions about electric vehicles.

The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, and Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times. The intimate gathering of the Rascals discuss Mayor Lightfoot’s campaign getting into a bit of trouble last week for trying to get CPS teachers to encourage students to volunteer for her reelection bid. Will voters hold this […]

Attorney Karen Conti joins John Williams to talk about the legal issues that could arise if a school requires that all kids be invited to a student’s birthday party. Should kids have to invite all of their classmates or should the student be able to decide who gets invited to the party?

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

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to tell us about the new COVID variant, how exercise can help blunt the effects of COVID-19, and what we know about the CDC and FDA seeing a possible link between Pfizer's bivalent shot and strokes.

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

State Representative Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), lead sponsor of the bill that bans assault-style weapons in Illinois, joins John Williams to talk about the new law, what he thinks of the sheriffs around the state who say they will refuse to comply to state law, how involved law enforcement was in to crafting this legislation, what punishment will […]

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!

Author and food and nutrition expert Dawn Jackson Blatner joins John Williams to talk about how to be more positive about your resolutions, the importance of being an empowered eater, if popcorn makes a good snack, why you should be mindful of ‘health halos,’ what you can do if you want to not drink as much soda, and 3 […]

State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), a candidate for Chicago mayor, joins John Williams to talk about Mayor Lightfoot’s campaign sending an email to CPS teachers asking them to encourage their students to work on her reelection campaign. Rep. Buckner also talks about how he will reduce crime in the city and if he believes Illinois’ assault weapons ban […]

John Williams brings you a 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 and The Daily Herald, Mark Jacob, freelance writer and former Metro editor at the Tribune, and longtime freelance journalist Mark Guarino of the Washington Post and Good Morning America. This week the Rascals talk about WTTW’s ‘Chicago Tonight’ moving from 7 pm to 10 pm. Is […]

Tanya Schardt, Senior Counsel and Director, State and Federal Policy at Brady, joins John Williams to talk about Illinois becoming the ninth state to ban assault weapons. Tanya explains what an assault weapon is, what makes an assault weapon far more lethal than other guns, why she believes this law is very reasonable, and if she […]

Attorney Rae Kaplan, of Kaplan Law Firm, joins John Williams to talk about the latest information you should know about the Biden administration’s student loan debt relief program.

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

Attorney Rich Lenkov, Capital Member, Downey & Lenkov, and co-host of “Legal Face-Off” on wgnradio.com, breaks down a couple of legal stories in the news including the legal challenges facing the Illinois assault weapons ban and who might face charges after a 6-year old allegedly shot a teacher in Virginia.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to break down a few stories making news this week including the ban of assault-style weapons in Illinois, JB Pritzker positioning himself as the most liberal potential presidential candidate, and Mayor Lightfoot releasing a new ad that touts her record of fighting crime.

Tom Fortino, Founder and Principal, Alpha Wealth Group, and co-host of “This Week in Wealth” on WGN Radio, joins John Williams to discuss why stocks are having a nice start to the year, the data trends that might be heading in the right direction, if inflation will continue to cool, and why it’s important to keep […]

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to tell us what we should know about the latest COVID variant (XBB.1.5), how concerned we should be about XBB.1.5, what is happening with COVID spread in China, and what medical advancements we might see in 2023 that will combat COVID.

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

John Williams reads his Chicago Tribune op-ed piece about his aging parents.

Tim Clue, comedian, playwright, and a top motivational speaker for those in education, joins his old friend John Williams to talk about his career, how he ended up becoming a motivational speaker, what he tells teachers about the importance of a connected classroom, why every child deserves an individualized education plan, and the strategies he […]

Chicago sports marketing expert Marc Ganis joins John Williams to talk about the effort to keep the Bears playing at Soldier Field. A developer released a video of a reimagined Soldier Field that includes a dome and other premium amenities.

Richard Pearson, Executive Director, Illinois State Rifle Association, joins John Williams to talk about the effort of the Illinois General Assembly to advance a new bill that would ban some assault-style weapons. The bill passed the Illinois House but is still being debated in the Senate. Richard offers his take on the proposed legislation.

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

State Representative Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), lead sponsor of a bill that would ban assault-style weapons in Illinois, joins Jon Hansen to talk the bill passing the House and when he expect the Illinois Senate to take up a vote on the bill. State Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna), who will be taking over as House Republican […]

Laura Pellikan, Executive Director of Get Covered Illinois, joins Jon Hansen to tell us everything we need to know about Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace that runs through January 15, 2023.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi joins Jon Hansen to talk about the House vote for a new Speaker, what he expects will happen with Rep. Kevin McCarthy, if he would vote for a Republican for speaker of the House, the importance of getting a speaker elected as soon as possible, and his memories of the January 6th insurrection.

Enjoy this classic episode of “The Best of Speed Jokes” from late ’22. What was your favorite? Keep sending your jokes to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com!

Peter Greenberg, “Eye on Travel” host and CBS News travel editor, joins guest host Wendy Snyder to talk about how a United customer tracked her luggage to an apartment complex, if you can find cheap airline tickets right now, and what Southwest Airlines is doing to help their customers that were disenfranchised during the airlines holiday meltdown.

Chris Witaske, actor, Chicago native, Second City veteran and co-creator of the animated Netflix series “Chicago Party Aunt,” joins guest host Wendy Snyder to talk about how the show started from a popular Twitter account, what we will see when we watch season two, the guest voices that appear in the second season, his new relationship […]

John Williams brings you a round of Speed Jokes. Enjoy this Speed Jokes “Classic” from September ’22. Keep sending yours to JohnWilliams@wgnradio.com!

The Mincing Rascals are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn of The Picayune Sentinel and The Daily Herald, Heather Cherone of WTTW,  Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute, and Brandon Pope, host of ‘On the Block‘ on WCIU. Today, the Rascals talk about the vote for a new Speaker of the House. What does the failure to elect a new speaker […]