Tag Archives: show notes

Big John Howell Show Notes 5-18-16

The Transportation Security Administration is flooding Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport with more staff and resources after hundreds of passengers were stranded as their planes took off while they waited in line. The TSA is currently advising people to arrive at least three hours early for their flights. Mary Wisniewski the transportation columnist for the Chicago Tribune joined John to talk about what has gone wrong with the TSA. (Listen here)

Bernie Sanders won more delegates than Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night — but not enough to slow Clinton’s march to the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton won Kentucky by a razor-thin margin, while Sanders notched a bigger 53% to 47% victory in Oregon. He needs to win by overwhelming margins the rest of the way to stand a chance at catching Clinton. Tom Bevan the Executive Editor for Real Clear Politics joined John with reaction. (Listen here)

Illinois State Representative Ron Sandack joined John with an update on what’s happening in Springfield. On Tuesday the leadership met with Governor Rauner in an attempt to make some progress on the budget battle. Plus, progress is slowly but surely being made on the Daily Fantasy Sports bill. (Listen here)

The White Sox lost to the Astros 6-5 on Tuesday night. Even after a big of a slum, they are still in first place in the American League Central. John checked in with White Sox play-by-play voice Ed Farmer. (Listen here)

The Cubs and their neighbors might be coming to some sort of an agreement on allowing the Cubs to sell alcohol in their new plaza starting later this summer. Tom Tunney and the neighbors still aren’t happy about it, but it still look like it’s going to happen.

Parent of the Decade nominee: A couple of kids in Pennsylvania were climbing a tree in the schoolyard when, they say, a guy told them not to do that and to just go home; he said something about liability. So the kids’ mother drew up and signed an all-purpose permission slip they could carry with them the next time someone tells them not to climb trees.

In California, one young woman is upset because of a local billboard. A high school junior has launched a petition to get a billboard for a local plastic surgeon removed. The billboard features two cups of coffee, one cup says B and the other cup says D with the caption “Size Matters”… suggesting a D-cup is better than a B-cup. She says it’s offensive, but the doctor in question says he’s actually empowering young women.

A Virginia woman’s obituary says that rather than vote for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump or Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for president, she died. She had been battling lung cancer.

A 22-year-old Connecticut woman delivered a scathing condemnation on Facebook, after she says she was accosted in a women’s Walmart bathroom after apparently being mistaken as transgender. The woman said her pixie haircut was covered by a baseball cap at the time and a woman approached her saying, “you are not supposed to be here, you need to leave.”

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Big John Howell Show Notes 5-13-16

The Southwest Airlines pilots union is mad at the city of Chicago for banning a sign aimed at shareholders. The city doesn’t like the idea of “controversial” signs going up. People could get upset if they have to look at such signs for hours during delays, and the signs could also be misinterpreted as an endorsement on the part of the city. The union on the other hand claims the ban violates their free speech rights.

White Sox home TV play-by-play voice Jason Benetti joined John to talk about the Sox hot start in his first season behind the microphone. (Listen here)

Both Donald Trump and Paul Ryan said they are encouraged after their meeting on Thursday. Ryan said they recognize that they have differences but they also have areas of common ground. Matt Lewis is a Senior Contributor for DailyCaller.com, CNN Commentator & author of the new book Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections.” He joined John with reaction to the “Spray Tan Summit.” (Listen here)

After weeks of silence, ousted Principal Troy LaRaviere is speaking out against Chicago Public Schools and his removal from Blaine Elementary School. He says the Emanuel administration is “inherently corrupt, and corruption breeds incompetence.” Troy LaRaviere joined John to share his side of the story. (Listen here)

A family in Des Plaines ended up getting scammed out of $4,000 through a vacation booking site. HomeAway is a new website that’s a little like Airbnb, where people rent spaces for short stays directly from the owners. The family wired the owners of a property in Florida $4,000 for their vacation, and then they just disappeared. The website says that sort of thing happens from time to time, but it’s “rare.” They also usually offer scammed customers $1,000 to keep their mouth shut, but this family didn’t take the deal. Ator Valkov joined John to share her family’s experience. (Listen here)

Chicago homeowners who leave dog waste on their property could get fined as much as $500. Currently it’s illegal to leave your pet’s contributions to city pride out in public areas, but this would make it illegal to do so on your own property.

Donald Trump’s former butler posted on Facebook calling for President Obama to be assassinated. Trump has come out and denounced the comments. As you might imagine, the Secret Service is investigating.

A South Carolina man refused to cut a customers hair because he’s black… then he decided it was a good idea to pull a gun on him. The barber said he felt threatened by the man.

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, take a look at the Weekend A-Jen-da.

Big John Howell Show Notes 4-18-16

Illinois State Comptroller Leslie Munger announced over the weekend that she won’t be paying lawmakers for the time being because of the budget battle. She says there isn’t enough money to pay the state’s bills and that other services should come first. The comptroller’s office will still process the paychecks, estimated at $1.3 million a month, but lawmakers won’t get the money right away because the payments will be thrown onto the state’s huge pile of unpaid bills. She joined John to talk about the decision. (Listen here)

There are three different proposals out there for youth employment programs in Cook County. One proposal involves a new gas tax and the others are a little more nebulous when it comes to funding. County Commissioner Sean Morrison from the 52nd district joined John with reaction to the ideas. (Listen here)

With the budget battle continuing to rage on in Springfield, people are looking for anyway possible to save money in the state government. Illinois State Representative David McSweeney is proposing that one way to save money and streamline business at the state level is to get rid of the office of Lt. Governor. He joined John to talk about his proposal. (Listen here)

Donald Trump is once again crying foul on the Republican Party primary process. He continues to say he should be given the nomination if he has a plurality of delegates rather than the majority that’s required. Now he is once again saying there could be violence if he is not given the nomination. Bret Baier the host of Special Report on Fox News Channel joined John to talk about the fight on both sides of the political aisle. (Listen here)

The Chicago Blackhawks now find themselves trailing the St. Louis Blues in their playoff series 2 games to 1 after a loss on Sunday. Is it time to panic? ABC 7 Sports Reporter Dionne Miller joined John with reaction. (Listen here)

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has had a change of heart and will leave Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill and replace Andrew Jackson with a woman on the $20 bill. Hamilton is enjoying a new surge in popularity thanks to the hip hop musical about his life. Meanwhile, Jackson was a slave owner who wasn’t very nice to out Native American neighbors.

According to a new poll, no one out there trusts the news media anymore. Just 6 percent of people say they have a lot of confidence in the media, putting the news industry about equal to Congress. But if the media are the ones reporting the poll, can we actually trust it?

SNL brought back Larry David for another run as Bernie Sanders. There are some great moments, including when Elaine Benes shows up and Sanders “yada yadas” his way through policy.

SNL is also taking some flak for their parody ad for “Heroin AM”. It’s for heroin users who still want to get things done.

A video posted to YouTube appears to show a woman making a questionable decision all for the sake of a hat. It appears a woman jumped over a protective barrier at the Toronto Zoo separating zoo-goers from a tiger’s fence to recover a hat from the ground. A few seconds later, she jumped back over the barrier to the sidewalk. All while an enclosed tiger paced back-and-forth behind a fence, following her every move.

The campaigning has come to an end, and the votes have been tabulated. No, it’s not the New York Thunderdome, that’s on Tuesday.“Boaty McBoatface” has officially won the contest to name a new arctic research ship. Now it’s in the hands of the Natural Environment Research Council to let the will of the people stand.

Big John Howell Show Notes 4-8-16

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are battling over which one has the better “New York state of mind.” Clinton rode the NYC subway Thursday morning slamming Sanders, who claimed he rode the city subway a year ago by using a token. Clinton pointed out they haven’t used tokens since 2003. Meanwhile, Sanders defended his position that Clinton isn’t qualified to be President. Jeff Zeleny the Senior Washington Correspondent for CNN has been traveling with Clinton and joined John to talk about the fight over the Empire State. (Listen here)

President Obama got a question asking why he picked another “old white guy” for the Supreme Court. He responded “At no point did I say, ‘You know what? I need a black lesbian from Skokie in that slot. Can you find me one?’” He added that Garland is an outstanding jurist and that’s what’s important. Mary Ann Ahern the Political Reporter for NBC 5 joined John to talk about the visit. (Listen here)

It’s Opening Day at US Cellular Field! Chet Coppock joined John to talk about the outlook for the White Sox this season, and also talked about Jerry Reinsdorf induction into the NBA Hall of Fame. (Listen here)

A new apartment building in Chicago is getting an old “L” car to play around in. The car is gutted and will serve as a gazebo of sorts.

NASA’s NEOWISE satellite has discovered 72 new near-Earth objects, 13 of which are classified as “potentially hazardous.” NASA says they have not yet detected any large enough to kill us all (or so they say) but even small objects can cause a lot of damage.

A Catholic priest walking around Indiana University was mistaken for a KKK member by some students. He was wearing a white robe, but obviously no hood. Student eyewitnesses said he was a Klan member carrying a whip, when it reality it was a priest with a Rosary. One IU residential adviser even sent an email warning to his dormitory telling them to stay on the lookout for the menacing figure.

Big John Howell Show Notes 3-16-16

Front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump dominated one of the biggest days of the 2016 presidential race so far. Trump overcame controversy about the violent clashes that have marked his rallies this week and Clinton muted the criticism over her history on trade deals with big wins in Ohio and Illinois over Bernie Sanders.

Josh Kraushaar, the Political Editor for National Journal, joined John with an in-depth discussion of the Republican GOP Candidates and John Kasich’s quick rise in the race. (Listen here)

Republican Senator Mark Kirk and Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth both won the primaries in Tuesday’s Illinois primary election. Lynn Sweet the Washington Bureau Chief for Chicago Sun-Times, joined the program to discuss Tuesday night’s primary. (Listen here)

With the third Super Tuesday behind us, WLS-AM Host and Executive Editor of Real Clear Politics, Tom Bevan joins us to discuss last night’s winners in the GOP race as well as the Illinois Primary for US Senate. (Listen here)

Challenger Kim Foxx won the Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney Tuesday night over Anita Alvarez. She joined John to talk about her win and what voters can expect from her if she wins the general election in November against Christopher Pfannkuche. (Listen here)

Congressman Bob Dold from the 10th district joined John to talk about his general election race against Brad Schnieder. Dold also talks about how he as a candidate is handling the possibility that Donald Trump could be the Republican Presidential nominee. (Listen here)

It was a win for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan in his proxy war with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Madigan-backed Juliana Stratton on Tuesday easily defeated Rauner ally Rep. Ken Dunkin for the Democratic nomination in the 5th House District. Chicago Tribune Columnist Eric Zorn joined the show with reaction. (Listen here)

Big John Howell Show Notes 1-26-16

For the first time, we are hearing all of the 911 calls Quintonio LeGrier made to police, begging for help. One call by LeGrier had previously been made public. The agency that investigates police shootings revealed Monday the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication identified two additional 911 calls placed by Quintonio LeGrier prior to his death and that of 55-year-old Bettie Jones.

Jonah Goldberg the Editor-at-Large for National Review joined John to talk about National Review’s sudden public feud with Donald Trump after they ran an issue that was critical of the Republican Presidential candidate. (Listen here)

Donald Trump sat down with Wolf Blitzer on CNN on Monday. First of all, he said that has joking with the whole “I could shoot someone” line and says “everybody knows” he was joking. Howard Fineman the Global Editor for Huffington Post, says that Trump has actually “trumped” the media in this race. He joined John to respond to Trump’s amazing sense of humor. (Listen here)

Fox 32 Political Analyst Thom Serafin the President of Serafin and Associates joined John with reaction Monday’s Democratic Presidential Debate, and the fight between Republicans and Democrats over a potential state takeover of the Chicago Public Schools. (Listen here)

Apparently a man in Lansing kept a six foot alligator as a pet for 26 years without high neighbors knowing it. Authorities found out about it when an appliance repairman was down in the guy’s basement and heard something move in a covered cage and look a peek. He got it at a swap meet years ago and kept it in a cage in the basement. He fed it mostly chicken breasts, which is not the preferred diet of alligators. Sgt. Bill Shannon from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is the officer who rounded up the beast. He joined John to talk about how common it is to find dangerous animals in neighborhoods.

The stock market is down 8% so far in 2016. The price of oil continues to drop, which should be good news for consumers, but stocks aren’t liking the news. Jonathan Hoenig the President of Capitalist Pig Asset Management joined John to talk about the wild ride on Wall Street. (Listen here)

A man identifying himself as an official with the Virginia Department of Transportation pranked a TV news team in DC. It started off alright, with the man talking about the efforts of the DOT in the face of the snowpocalypse, but then he mentioned his “drug dealer and prostitute were on the way and they couldn’t get it delivered.” Much like the guy who talked to CNN about “Edward Scissorhands” instead of “Edward Snowden” the news anchors just kept talking to the guy, not even listening to what he was saying.

A religious group that once held a 24-hour prayerathon to prepare people for the end of the world has endorsed Cruz. You can’t really control who endorses you, except Cruz decided to feature the statement on his website.

Remember the University of Missouri professor who wanted some “muscle” to take care of a reporter during the outrage over their President not doing enough to stop things that may or may not have happened? She’s been charged with 3rd degree assault.

Hillary Clinton had a coughing fit during a speech in Iowa on Monday. It lasted over a minute.

A Pittsburgh woman was in a bit of a sticky wicket when her furnace broke just as her husband was deploying with the National Guard. So she called a repairman, who came and fixed the furnace. They chatted while he was working, and she happened to mention her husband was deployed. She was surprised when she got the bill and he only charged her $1. He called it the “deployment discount.”

Big John Howell Show Notes for Monday 10-5-15