1988: Chaos in the Chicago City Council
Charlie Meyerson interviews
English - September 05, 2019 22:28News Arts Books charlie meyerson charles wxrt wnua news wpgu wgn radio Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
This week’s transformative Chicago City Council development—the historic livestream video presentation of a committee meeting—brings to mind a time when the council was maddeningly tough to follow.
In 1988, I was a newbie City Hall reporter for WXRT-FM. It was an assignment I relished not—partly because the council’s procedures were bewilderingly opaque and byzantine.
But I channeled my journalistic frustration into creation of a series that won a nationwide United Press International award for documentary radio reporting.
So, let’s return to the year 1988. Eugene Sawyer was briefly Chicago’s mayor, and a young journalist was pissed off at the difficulty navigating … Chaos in the Council.
Related:
■ Me, far more enthusiastic about covering City Hall in 2012.
■ Another award-winning WXRT News investigation from 1984.
■ And check out some of my interviews with thought-leaders through the years on this website, in Apple Music, on Spotify, via Alexa-powered speakers, through your favorite podcast player, and at Chicago Public Square.