Joravsky and Hanania analyze today’s Chicago City Council with the past on podcast

Chicago Reader journalist and podcaster Ben Joravsky, who has covered Chicago City politics since 1981, interviews former Chicago City Hall reporter and columnist Ray Hanania on his special “Oh, What a Week” podcast which is available on most major podcast platforms.

Hanania covered Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992, including for the Daily Southtown and in 1985 with the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

Joravsky and Hanania tear into everything from how the current push to take political power from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson by the “Tabares-Lopez 9” to how a similar effort was made in 1983 by the “Vrdolyak 29.”

They discuss the failed effort by Alderman Silvana Tabares and Raymond Lopez to strip Ald. Byron Sighcho-Lopez of his chairmanship of the Housing committee, and to undermine Mayor Johnson.

The irony of the political attack is startling.

Jarovsky and Hanania also talk about citywide politics, Hanania’s jump into the deep end of standup comedy in 2002 lampooning his life as a Palestinian American and his marriage to his wife who is Jewish, and facing off with the late comedian Jackie Mason.

Hanania also talks about the racism he faced as a Palestinian and how his and his family’s military service in defense of America was always brushed off by critics.

They discuss the administration of the late Mayor Harold Washington, and the foibles of former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking this link:

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

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