Ray Hanania's The Arab street Podcast

09-22-26 Ray Hanania on Politics, Trump's Media Ban will backfire Political Opinion Political Columnist Political Podcast   If you hate the news media, the most effective way to hurt it is to ignore it. Attacking it or banning it only elevates the targeted media. President Donald Trump banned CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House news coverage, an illegal act that violates the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees a free press/free media. Banning the media only elevates the media and empowers the media. Trump has done many stupid things since he was re-elected. His attacks and attempts to ban late-night host Jimmy Kimmel backfired and made Kimmel even more popular. Banning CNN, MS Now, and Politico will only make them more popular.. The mainstream media today is not the same media it was when I first entered journalism 50 years ago in 1975. It's deteriorated. It's influence is collapsing. Its adherence to honesty and fair reporting is broken. But if you don't like them, leave them alone. That's the best way to hurt a media. Trump has empowered the media by his vicious personal attacks. Banning them only makes the media stronger, in a political sense. The media is not as good as it was and continues to worsen. But Trump's attacks deflect from the problems the media has. And the media has failed to expose the corruption of the national Democratic Party. Their lack of leadership is, in fact, why this country is in such bad shape. They are divided, disorganized, and their leadership is as bad as Trump's leadership. For more information on "Ray Hanania on Politics," visit his Substack column at: RayHanania.com Hanania.com CourageousThought.com They all lead to the truth that you won't see or hear in the media, nor will you ever hear it from our government.

Former City Hall reporter and award-winning political columnist discusses the career of Maria Pappas and her new memoir, Maria the Pappas. Everyone know Maria Pappas the former Cook County Commissioner and now Cook County Treasurer, and all that she has done for taxpayers in Cook County and Chicago. But few know the back story on Maria, her childhood and challenges and how she was inspired to help people, seeing politics as a means of helping people. She is brash, outspoken and not afraid to take on a challenge. Get information on her book at www.MariaThePappas.com Read my Substack column on Maria at Https://CourageousThought.com Buy the book from Amazon.com. You will be impressed by her, a rare exception to the MAJORITY -- she is one of a small group --  of politicians and elected officials who work for themselves  

Welcome to Political-Review with Ray Hanania and myself Frank Calbrese … It’s Monday, August 24, 2026 Frank is a political consultant and analyst at FrankCalabrese.com  and I’m a former Chicago City Hall reporter and columnist at Hanania.com This Video Podcast on politics focuses on specific political developments, issues, and controversies in Chicago and the Chicagoland area and is broadcast when those issues arise … each week, or each day … published at Political-Review.com for August 24, 2026 on Chicago Public Schools On YouTube … check us out and subscribe This episode looks at the opening day of schools and challenges facing the school budget, school board … What’s going on, Frank, with school spending … has anything really changed other than the costs rising faster than student grades? Chicago Public School FACTS 316,224 students returned to classrooms today, the first day of the school year The schools account for more than 60 percent of our property taxes, and yet the system is not delivering … Chicago Public Schools owns and maintains 803 buildings across 522 campuses. The budget for Chicago Public Schools for fiscal year 2027 totals $10.11 billion. Chicago Public Schools has 316,224 students enrolled for the school year. The district includes 626 total schools,including Charter Schools That’s $31,623 per student spent … 30 percent of the school/campuses are half empty … Approximately 50 elementary and high schools combined in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) serve fewer than 200 students, though CPS does not publish a static, isolated roster exclusively naming every individual high school under this threshold. Frederick Douglass Academy High School on the West Side, 543 N. Waller Ave. in Austin, which has reported enrollments as low as 33 students. The high school is spending just over $68,000 per student compared to the district average of $18,287, statistics from the Illinois State Board of Education show. with average administrator salaries ranging between $130,000 and $160,000. Total Administrators: CPS typically employs over 1,100 school-based administrators (principals and assistant principals) alongside hundreds of central office and network administrators. In 2013, Mayor Emannuel closed 50 schools and caused severe public backlash and community disruption, making large-scale closures politically toxic. Local politicians, community activists, and the Chicago Teachers Union strongly oppose closures, arguing they disproportionately harm Black and low-income neighborhoods and destabilize communities. Union job protection is more important than the quality and performance of the Chicago Public Schools CPS does a poor job of teaching Chicago students Five years ago, only 26 percent of the students met the minimum reading proficiency level … so they lowered that level and now only 43 percent meet the reading proficiency level … READING PROFICIENCY IS TERRIBLE instead improving teaching, the schools lower the passing grade to make it look like more students are doing better. Roughly 43% of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students meet grade-level standards in reading today, compared to about 26% to 30% five years ago. However, state officials altered the scoring benchmarks during this timeframe, which artificially inflated recent performance metrics on paper. Reading Performance Over Time Five Years Ago (Post-Pandemic Onset): Following the pandemic disruptions, elementary reading proficiency plummeted. Only about 26% to 30% of 3rd-through-8th graders met or exceeded expectations on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). Today: According to the latest Illinois Report Card data, reading proficiency for 3rd-through-8th graders is at 43%, while 11th-grade reading proficiency sits at 40%.    

8-10-26 Chicago Public schools & taxes - Ray Hanania & Frank Calabrese on Political-Review podcast Welcome to Political-Review with Frank Calabrese and Ray Hanania … It’s Tuesday, August 10, 2026 Frank Calabrese is a political consultant and analyst at https://FrankCalabrese.com Ray Hanania is a former Chicago City Hall reporter and columnist at https://Hanania.com This Video Podcast on politics focuses on specific political developments, issues, and controversies in Chicago and the Chicagoland area and is broadcast when those issues arise … each week, or each day … published right here at: https://Political-Review.com On YouTube … check us out and subscribe This episode looks at the $1.9 billion dollar shortfall that the Chicago Public Schools need, according to major media and observers, driven by massive pension obligations … Chicago and the state will pump $1 billion into that pension debt with the state injecting some $368 million into the pensions this year with Chicago covering the rest … the Chicago Teachers Union passed an unbalanced budget and they want the state to inject $150 million more to prevent city school teacher/administrator layoffs … the CPS has proposed a $9.9 billion budget with 1,600 lay-offs … The schools are a mess … What’s going on, Frank, with school spending … has anything really changed other than the costs rising faster than student grades? You can also view this podcast on YouTube at www.Political-Review.com Subscribe to this podcast RAY HANANIA  

8-6-26 Chicago Mayoral Election update with Ray Hanania & Frank Calabrese on Political-View podcast August 6, 2026 Political-Review.com Political consultant Frank Calabrese and columnist and former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania tear into the Chicago elections, with a close look at the so-called "frontrunner" Alexi Giannoulias and what his issues are. He has the most money in his campaign fund but can Giannoulias win, or will he end up like Raja Krishnamoorthi who had the most money in his campaign fund when he ran and lost for US Senate last April. Candidates for mayor also include: Mayor Brandon Johnson -- candidate of the Chicago Teachers Union struggling through his first term Alexi Giannoulias – Illinois Secretary of State. He officially announced his campaign on August 2, 2026 and entered the race with one of the largest campaign war chests in Illinois politics. Maria Pappas – unannounced but expected mayoral candidate. She is the Cook County Treasurer, focused on financial management and government reform for the taxpayers George Cardenas – well-liked former Chicago alderman and current Board of Review commissioner. Matt Brewer – Attorney and former CHA executive. Joe Holberg – Entrepreneur running as a political outsider. Liam Stanton – Small business owner emphasizing government reform. Lisa Nee – Cardiologist who recently entered the race. William Kelly – Journalist and perennial candidate. John Kelly -- conservative businessman and lobbyist, founder of Sentinel Security. Willie Wilson. The Political Review Podcast will only tape when specific issues surface and become the grist for analysis by Frank Calabrese and Ray Hanania. Frank Calabrese is a political consultant and analyst at https://FrankCalabrese.com  Ray Hanania is a former Chicago City Hall reporter and columnist at https://Hanania.com This Video Podcast on Politics focuses on specific political developments, issues, and controversies in Chicago and the Chicagoland area and is broadcast when those issues arise … each week, or each day … is also published at: https://Political-Review.com on YouTube Please subscribe here at Podbean or on YouTube. RAY HANANIA