Chicago Reader's Back Room Deal
31 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 32 ratingsBack by popular demand: The Back Room Deal features radio personality and longtime Reader political writer Ben Joravsky arguing local Chicago politics with Reader senior writer Maya Dukmasova. With sharp wit and stinging analysis, Joravsky and Dukmasova cut through the smokey haze of the elections to offer you a glimpse of the 2020 Chicago-area Illinois primary races—local and Cook County-level and, of course, U.S. presidential. Will these historic elections be determined in back-room deals, like so many in Chicago's past? Let Ben and Maya talk you through it.
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Episodes
How to stay in office for decades: Illinois State House elections
March 06, 2020 20:55 - 18 minutes - 26 MBThe other Senate
March 05, 2020 10:55 - 12 minutes - 16.9 MBWe want somebody somebody sent: electing Committeemen
March 04, 2020 10:55 - 8 minutes - 11.5 MBNoteworthy Chicago congressional races
March 03, 2020 10:55 - 14 minutes - 20.1 MBYou be the judge: A new Supreme Court justice and other votes for the bench
March 02, 2020 17:50 - 9 minutes - 12.5 MBReclaim the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
February 28, 2020 10:55 - 8 minutes - 12.2 MBWe've got your files right here: A new Clerk of the Circuit Court
February 27, 2020 10:55 - 16 minutes - 22.2 MBWhat is the Board of Review and why should we care?
February 26, 2020 10:55 - 10 minutes - 15.2 MBBeyond Smollettgate: The Cook County State's Attorney’s race
February 25, 2020 10:55 - 16 minutes - 23.4 MBSo you want a new president? Illinois delegate assignments
February 24, 2020 23:05 - 17 minutes - 24 MBThe ignored wards: runoffs in the 15th, 16th, and 21st
March 28, 2019 09:55 - 21 minutes - 29.7 MBA clear line in the sand: the 30th Ward
March 27, 2019 09:55 - 12 minutes - 16.7 MBMachine hangover: the 25th Ward
March 26, 2019 09:55 - 11 minutes - 15.7 MBThree votes short of victory: the Sixth Ward
March 25, 2019 09:55 - 11 minutes - 15.7 MBOld friends and new enemies: aldermanic runoffs at Season One wards
March 23, 2019 09:55 - 27 minutes - 37.4 MBA black woman will lead Chicago: the mayoral runoff
March 22, 2019 19:15 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBNo one is running: the 42nd Ward
February 12, 2019 10:55 - 5 minutes - 5.19 MBThe 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 *** 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, court...
Not even trying to pretend: the 46th Ward
February 11, 2019 10:55 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBBen 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....
What can we expect from our elected officials: the 22nd Ward
February 09, 2019 10:55 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBDeparting 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...
Ties to Kanye West and Michelle Obama: the Fifth Ward
February 08, 2019 10:55 - 11 minutes - 11.1 MBThe 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 Speci...
Never heard a kind word about the alderman: the Seventh Ward
February 07, 2019 10:55 - 12 minutes - 12.1 MBBen 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. ...
Writing off the activists: the 37th Ward
February 06, 2019 10:55 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBThe 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 J...
Why does it look so weird: the First Ward
February 05, 2019 10:55 - 9 minutes - 9.05 MBA 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 mu...
The front-man on all those TIF deals: the 40th Ward
February 04, 2019 10:55 - 8 minutes - 7.87 MBThe 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 Dukmasov...
You have to pass the bill to know what's in it: the 33rd Ward
February 02, 2019 10:55 - 11 minutes - 11 MBBen 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...
I'm falling asleep even saying it: the 47th Ward
February 01, 2019 10:55 - 11 minutes - 11 MBBen 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. Bjorkl...
The Joe Moore Show: the 49th Ward
January 31, 2019 10:55 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBThe 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 FreeSo...
The latest Fast Eddie: the 14th Ward
January 30, 2019 10:55 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBThe 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 W...
A kid takes on the machine: the 13th Ward
January 29, 2019 10:55 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBMarty 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 L...
Shotgun objections: the 20th Ward
January 28, 2019 19:55 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBThings 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 Fr...
OGs vs. the Johnny-come-latelies: the 2019 mayoral race
January 25, 2019 18:08 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBBen 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 mus...