Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal

How to stay in office for decades: Illinois State House elections Mar 06, 2020

The other Senate Mar 05, 2020

We want somebody somebody sent: electing Committeemen Mar 04, 2020

Noteworthy Chicago congressional races Mar 03, 2020

You be the judge: A new Supreme Court justice and other votes for the bench Mar 02, 2020

Reclaim the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Feb 28, 2020

We've got your files right here: A new Clerk of the Circuit Court Feb 27, 2020

What is the Board of Review and why should we care? Feb 26, 2020

Beyond Smollettgate: The Cook County State's Attorney’s race Feb 25, 2020

So you want a new president? Illinois delegate assignments Feb 24, 2020

The ignored wards: runoffs in the 15th, 16th, and 21st Mar 28, 2019

A clear line in the sand: the 30th Ward Mar 27, 2019

Machine hangover: the 25th Ward Mar 26, 2019

Three votes short of victory: the Sixth Ward Mar 25, 2019

Old friends and new enemies: aldermanic runoffs at Season One wards Mar 23, 2019

A black woman will lead Chicago: the mayoral runoff Mar 22, 2019

No one is running: the 42nd Ward Feb 12, 2019

The race in the ward that economically drives the entire city of Chicago is totally uncontested, and Ben and Maya look at why.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

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Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

Not even trying to pretend: the 46th Ward Feb 11, 2019

Ben and Maya look at the fight between low-income housing and neighborhood amenities in rapidly changing Uptown.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

What can we expect from our elected officials: the 22nd Ward Feb 09, 2019

Departing progressive alderman Rick Munoz faces personal trouble in advance of the election, placing successor Michael Rodriguez's race in jeopardy, in staunchly independent Little Village.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

Ties to Kanye West and Michelle Obama: the Fifth Ward Feb 08, 2019

The future site of the Obama Presidential Center and the home of the University of Chicago also encompasses parts of lower-income South Shore, which Ben and Maya think makes for a fascinating aldermanic race.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

Never heard a kind word about the alderman: the Seventh Ward Feb 07, 2019

Ben and Maya look at an unpopular alderman who faces a strong challenge from a young activist, in a ward in serious need of economic development.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

Writing off the activists: the 37th Ward Feb 06, 2019

The leading City Council proponent for putting the unpopular police academy in her far west-side ward faces a tough race, and Ben and Maya are excited.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

Why does it look so weird: the First Ward Feb 05, 2019

A classic political operator in the Bucktown/Wicker Park/Logan Square area leads Ben and Maya into a discussion of their relationships with Chicago's aldermen.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

The front-man on all those TIF deals: the 40th Ward Feb 04, 2019

The public face of some of Chicago's worst deals—the Olympics, ongoing TIF deals, and the parking meter sale—is City Council's new finance committee chair, and Ben and Maya have plenty to look at in the ward bound by Clark Street, Lawrence Avenue, and the Chicago River.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

You have to pass the bill to know what's in it: the 33rd Ward Feb 02, 2019

Ben and Maya discuss Albany Park's powerful and well-connected alderman Deb Mell and her exciting DSA-backed challenger, Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

I'm falling asleep even saying it: the 47th Ward Feb 01, 2019

Ben and Maya look at the North Center / Ravenswood neighborhood and outgoing alderman Ameya Pawar's pragmatic, thoughtful progressivism.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

The Joe Moore Show: the 49th Ward Jan 31, 2019

The former progressive champion turned mayoral rubber-stamper faces a tough race, and Ben and Maya are all about it.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

The latest Fast Eddie: the 14th Ward Jan 30, 2019

The indictment of the head of City Council's finance committee, who shook down a fast-food joint and kept a passel of guns in his office, offers plenty for Ben and Maya to consider.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

A kid takes on the machine: the 13th Ward Jan 29, 2019

Marty Quinn, close ally of Michael Madigan, has accrued a lot of power in the 13th ward, but Ben and Maya are more interested in what his 19-year-old challenger means for the machine politician.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

Shotgun objections: the 20th Ward Jan 28, 2019

Things get complicated in the ward set to tie for the most-aldermen-in-jail award, so Ben and Maya share their insights.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org

OGs vs. the Johnny-come-latelies: the 2019 mayoral race Jan 25, 2019

Ben and Maya look at the flood of candidates that entered the mayoral race when Rahm Emanuel decided not to seek re-election, and analyze their campaigns.

http://www.chicagoreader.com

***

Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal is produced by Anne Elizabeth Moore.

Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios

Hosted by Ben Joravsky & Maya Dukmasova

Recorded and mixed by Edwin R. Ruiz, Mondo Machine

Special thanks to Lumpen Radio WLPN 105.5FM

Theme music by Jim R. S. Bjorklund, courtesy FreeSound.org