PODCAST · news
The CloutCast
by The Daily Line
The CloutCast is a Chicago-based podcast from The Daily Line about policy and politics in Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois. Each episode, the Daily Line’s reporters will delve into a host of topics ranging from budgets and redistricting to criminal justice and housing. Guests will include policymakers, elected officials, lobbyists, organizers and reporters, who will share their insights and analysis. New episodes are released every two weeks.
Episodes
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Rep. Mary Beth Canty on her first months in Springfield
Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, was elected to the Illinois House in November 2022 after previous years of public service on the Arlington Heights Village Board and Regional Transportation Authority board. In her first few months as a state lawmaker, Canty has pushed…
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Ald. Matt Martin on why Chicago should try ranked choice voting
Ald. Matt Martin (47) introduced a City Council resolution in January calling for a hearing to discuss the possibility of using ranked choice voting in future Chicago elections. Advocates argue the system, in which voters rank candidates by preference in races with three or more people, not only...
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Rep. Greg Harris on his work as House Majority Leader
Greg Harris retired from the General Assembly as House Majority Leader following over a decade representing the North Side of Chicago. Harris is the first person to serve who openly lives with HIV and is one of the first openly gay lawmakers in Illinois history. During his tenure in the House,...
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Rep. Mark Batinick on his time as House Republican floor leader
After eight years in the Illinois House and four as House Republican floor leader, Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) decided not to run for another term in 2022. The Daily Line’s Ben Szalinski sat down with Batinick to talk about his career in the House, why he decided to elected office, and his...
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Larry Suffredin on 20 years of problems solved and unsolved
Larry Suffredin was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2002 as an insurgent looking to shake up the county's old ways to make the government more efficient and service-focused. Now, 20 years later, at the age of 74, Suffredin is staring down retirement and reflecting on the...
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Ald. Nicole Lee on her first months in office and election calculus
Ald. Nicole Lee (11) made history this year when she was sworn in as the first Chinese American member of Chicago’s City Council and the first woman to represent the 11th Ward. The Daily Line’s Erin Hegarty sat down with Lee to hear lessons from her first months in office, how her legislative...
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G-PAC CEO Kathleen Sances on where Illinois’ gun control laws can go from here
Seven people were killed and more than 40 were injured when a gunman opened fire during Highland Park’s Independence Day parade. Since the shooting, law enforcement officials have revealed details about the gunman’s background including previous encounters with police. Despite making a threat to...
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Injustice Watch’s Jonah Newman on how to vote for judges
For decades, the only way to know how to vote in Cook County judicial elections was to go on a research dive or trust the local Democratic Party’s picks. But thanks to Injustice Watch and its new judge’s guide, voters have a third option. Injustice Watch editor Jonah Newman joined The Daily…
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CACC director Mamadou Diakhate on caring for Chicago’s pets and wildlife
Chicago Animal Care and Control is tasked with taking care of and controlling animals found throughout the city including kittens, dogs, coyotes and even the occasional peacock. The department relies not only on city employees but also on volunteers who help care for animals and get them adopted...
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Chelsea Laliberte Barnes on her race to flip a Republican district
Chelsea Laliberte Barnes has been advocating for substance abuse treatment and opioid overdose prevention measures since her brother died of an overdose more than a decade ago. It let her to create Live 4 Lali, a non-profit that has given her a platform to advocate for state and federal…
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Inspector General Deborah Witzburg on bad systems and good people in government
Deborah Witzburg was confirmed on April 27 as the city’s new Inspector General after the office spent more than six months in a transitory state that she and her predecessor say never should have been allowed to happen. Witzburg sat down last week with The Daily Line’s Alex Nitkin to talk about…
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How Chicago is preparing for the June 28 Primary
Chicagoans are set on June 28 to vote for everything from governor and Secretary of State to county commissioners and, likely, a new Chicago ward map. But how does a city prepare for a primary, general and municipal election all set to occur in less than a year’s time? The Daily Line’s Erin…
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Illinois Retail Merchant Association CEO Rob Karr on the state’s retail crime bill
The Illinois General Assembly passed HB1091 in the final hours of the spring session to crack down on organized retail crime and smash-and-grabs that have become a nemesis for business owners along the Magnificent Mile and at stores in suburban shopping malls. It was one of several bills…
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Which aldermen aren’t showing up for work?
For months, The Daily Line has been teaming up with WBEZ and Crain’s Chicago Business to calculate how often all 50 aldermen have been absent from meetings of their assigned City Council committee meetings between May 2019 and December 2021. The resulting project, published on Monday, includes a...
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Cook County CFO Ammar Rizki on how to spend $1 billion
The COVID-19 pandemic put Cook County in the position of having to overseeing triage and recovery for more than 120 suburban municipalities — first with CARES Act funds and now with $1 billion in aid from the American Rescue Plan. Cook County Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki sat down with The...
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Ald. Anthony Beale on the City Council’s power balance
Ald. Anthony Beale (9) has been pushing since last June for members of the City Council to have their own legal counsel, separate from Chicago’s Corporation Counsel charged with representing the city’s interests as a whole. The addition would also bring aldermen their own parliamentarian to...
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How to fix the Department of Children and Family Services.
Since the beginning of 2022, Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith has been found in contempt of court multiple times by a Cook County judge for failing to place children in appropriate care settings in a reasonable amount of time. Cook County Public Guardian Charles...
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Chicago AIS Commissioner David Reynolds makes his exit
After 11 years overseeing the department that manages the city’s properties and equipment, Commissioner David Reynolds is stepping down to take on a new role at the Obama Foundation, he announced in an exclusive interview with The Daily Line’s Alex Nitkin. Reynolds defended the Department of…
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Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri on the value of centrism
Going back to his days as a 20-year-old member of the Elmwood Park school board, Pete Silvestri has always been a mediator. Now that Silvestri is about to retire from politics after 28 years as a Cook County Commissioner on the Northwest Side, he sat down with The Daily Line’s Alex Nitkin to...
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Ald. Silvana Tabares on ward remap and the 23rd Ward
Ald. Silvana Tabares represents the 23rd Ward on the Southwest Side and also serves as vice-chair of the City Council’s Latino Caucus. As the city’s remap process continues to heat up and drag on past a critical December deadline, Tabares has helped lead the push for the adoption of the so-called...
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Comptroller Susana Mendoza on Illinois’ finances in 2022
Illinois has long been known for its dismal financial condition. But Comptroller Susana Mendoza is staking her reelection campaign on an argument that things are much better for the state and its taxpayers since she took over five years ago. Mendoza talked to The Daily Line’s Alex Nitkin about…
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Erin and Alex on Chicago government in 2021
A hard-fought and long-delayed commission to oversee the Chicago Police Department. A bitter fight to redraw the boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards. A scramble to figure out how to spend $1.9 billion from the federal government. On this special end-of-year episode of the CloutCast, The Daily Line’s...
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Bill Cameron on a half-century of ward remaps
Chicago aldermen are in the middle of their once-a-decade task of redrawing the city’s 50 ward boundaries to match the city’s shifting populations. So far, three different map proposals have surfaced, and aldermen blew past a critical Dec. 1 deadline for voting on a map. The Daily Line's Erin...
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Assessor Fritz’s Kaegi’s reelection pitch
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi rode into office in 2018 on a platform of reforming a property tax assessment system widely assailed as arbitrary and inequitable. Three years later, he says he’s made strides toward that goal, but critics — including a formidable new political challenger — say…
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A year of redistricting in Illinois
Since the beginning of the year, Illinois lawmakers have undertaken the once-a-decade task of drawing new political boundaries for the legislature, state Supreme Court and congressional districts. The legislative maps are facing a legal challenge and the congressional districts are forcing...
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Building safe and connected bike lanes in Chicagoland
Officials in the city of Chicago have plans for 100 miles of new and upgraded bike lanes in 2021 and 2022, plus plans for 12 miles of new protected bike lanes both this year and next. Additionally, the city continues to expand its Divvy bike share program. The Daily Line’s Erin Hegarty spoke with...
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Joe Ferguson on Chicago’s struggle for good government
Joe Ferguson stepped down on Friday after 12 years overseeing Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General, the office charged with investigating and exposing waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement and corruption in Chicago’s government. Ferguson sat down for an extensive exit interview with The Daily...
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Understanding Chicago’s finances and the 2022 budget
Mayor Lori Lightfoot pitched her $16.7 billion budget plan for the 2022 Fiscal Year as an “investment in the success of generations to come.” But can the plan really help climb Chicago out of the financial hole it has been digging for decades? And will it position the city for financial stability...
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Analyzing Illinois’ new energy law
After months of discussions, negotiations and delays, the Illinois General Assembly has finally approved a new omnibus energy bill aimed at moving the state from using traditional fossil fuels to be more climate friendly. The proposal, known as The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, was signed into...
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What would defunding CPD look like?
The Chicago Police Department is the most expensive, and arguably most controversial, piece of Chicago’s nearly $12 billion budget. And as the City Council gets ready to pass a new spending plan for 2022 with the help of a $1.9 billion boost from the federal government, a battle is underway over...
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Tackling affordable housing in Illinois
The COVID-19 pandemic generated discussions in Illinois and all across the nation about the importance of affordable housing in new ways. This year, Illinois lawmakers introduced and passed several housing-related bills. On this episode, The Daily Line’s Joel Ebert discusses lawmakers’ work…
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How to grow Chicago's dwindling tree canopy
While trees seem to be everywhere in Chicago, the city is having to remove trees faster than it can replace them, whether due to pest infestation or storm damage. And as the city is feeling the effects of climate change with higher temperatures and derechos, the importance of tree coverage across...
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Sam Toia on how to revive Chicago’s restaurant industry
Sam Toia is an extremely visible presence around city government, whether he’s standing alongside the mayor at press conferences, lobbying aldermen behind the scenes or promoting public education and tourism initiatives. As president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, Toia’s job is…
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The growing call for environmental justice in Chicago
Hilco. General Iron. MAT Asphalt. You've likely heard about high profile clashes between industry and the health and well-being of the people who live nearby their facilities. These incidents have ignited another spark in the fight for environmental justice across Chicago. Daily Line reporter...
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Ethics reform and the Illinois legislature
For months, Illinois’ top elected officials, including Gov. JB Pritzker, House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon said ethics reform was one of lawmakers’ top priorities for this year’s legislative session. Little significant action was taken until May 31, the last scheduled day…
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Michael Shakman on the legacy of patronage in Chicago
In 1969, an idealistic young lawyer named Michael Shakman filed a lawsuit with the goal of breaking the stranglehold that the Democratic Organization of Cook County — the political “machine” run by Mayor Richard J. Daley — held on Chicago’s government and elections. More than a half-century…
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The Debate Over an Elected School Board in Chicago
A bill to give voters a say in the governance of Chicago Public Schools will likely land on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk by the end of the legislative session. But will the bill mandate a fully elected school board or a "hybrid" elected-appointed body to oversee the nation’s third-largest school...
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Civilian oversight of CPD: The Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance
Advocates behind the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance are urging aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to approve the newly proposed measure that would establish civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. The measure, which comes as a result of coalitions behind the…
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The effort to end prison gerrymandering in Illinois
In January, when Illinois lawmakers approved a comprehensive measure to overhaul criminal justice and policing, the legislation contained a provision that would effectively end prison gerrymandering. Today, prisoners across the country are counted by the U.S. Census as residents of legislative...
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Incoming Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr.
April 1 marks a changing of the guard at the Cook County Public Defender’s office as Sharone Mitchell Jr. prepares to take over as the county’s top defense lawyer. He succeeds Amy Campanelli, who launched multiple new branches of the office during her six-year term and carved out a legacy as a...
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What’s next for Chicago’s hospitality industry?
Arguably no sector of the Chicagoland economy was hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than hotels and tourism, and it will likely take years for the hospitality industry to recover to its pre-pandemic strength. The crisis took an especially deep toll on tens of thousands of hotel workers, an...
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Corporate loopholes or tax incentives
On Feb. 17, Gov. JB Pritzker released his proposed $41.6 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2022. To help balance the budget, the governor called for closing an estimated $932 million in what he's calling "corporate loopholes." On this episode of The CloutCast, we examine the loopholes, the…
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How Chicago's racial makeup affects remapping.
Aldermen and city officials are already in disagreement over how the boundaries of Chicago's 50 wards should be redrawn this year. Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26), chair of the City Council Latino Caucus, and Ald. Jason Ervin (28), chair of the Aldermanic Black Caucus, are challenging the proposal…
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Lightfoot and Preckwinkle's Springfield agendas
Now that the Illinois General Assembly’s regular session is underway, lobbyists from all corners are scrambling to make sure their interests are being represented in new legislation. Those lobbyists include representatives of Chicago and Cook County, who are respectively whipping legislators in...
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Reflecting on the lame duck
The 101st General Assembly of the Illinois legislature wrapped up last week, after passing a comprehensive series of proposals from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus during an abbreviated lame duck session. On this episode, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), discusses the...
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Redistricting: Cause and Effect
The start of 2021 officially kicks off the beginning of a months-long redistricting process that will lead to the redrawing of boundaries for Illinois’ congressional seats, Chicago’s 50 wards, Cook County’s 17 districts, 59 state Senate and 118 state House seats. To understand redistricting and…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The CloutCast is a Chicago-based podcast from The Daily Line about policy and politics in Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois. Each episode, the Daily Line’s reporters will delve into a host of topics ranging from budgets and redistricting to criminal justice and housing. Guests will include policymakers, elected officials, lobbyists, organizers and reporters, who will share their insights and analysis. New episodes are released every two weeks.
HOSTED BY
The Daily Line
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The CloutCast have?
The CloutCast currently has 46 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The CloutCast about?
The CloutCast is a Chicago-based podcast from The Daily Line about policy and politics in Chicago, Cook County and the state of Illinois. Each episode, the Daily Line’s reporters will delve into a host of topics ranging from budgets and redistricting to criminal justice and housing. Guests will...
How often does The CloutCast release new episodes?
The CloutCast has 46 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The CloutCast?
You can listen to The CloutCast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The CloutCast?
The CloutCast is created and hosted by The Daily Line.
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