Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall reporter & columnist writing from the frontlines of Chicago's rough & tumble politics. Hanania writes a syndicated column on politics, media, and a wide range of topics including seniors and humor. He also writes and host a radio show on Middle East issues for the prestigious Arab News Newspaper at ArabNews.com/rayradioshow. You can subscribe to his 4-Times Weekly Syndicated columns by visiting https://RayHanania.com
04-06-25 Tom Tresser discusses the impact of TIFs in Orland Park and Aurora
04-06-25 Tom Tresser discusses the impact of TIFs in Orland Park and Aurora
Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast S8 Ep 4 04-06-25
Sunday April 6, 2025 and I am talking with Tom Tresser anexpert on TIFs, Tax Increment Financing Districts … and the impact TIFs had in the outcomes of two major suburban elections, the defeat of Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau by Jim Dodge and the defeat of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin by Alderman John Laesch …
Pekau and Irvin were abusers of TIFs and the issue surfacedduring both elections to impact the outcomes
Award winning Chicagoland political writer and formerChicago City Hall reporter and columnist addresses the facts that drive regional politics and elections in Chicagoland and the United States in this mainstream podcast, “Ray Hanania on Politics.”
For more information on Ray Hanania and his podcast, RayHanania on Politics, visit www.Hanania.com (http://www.Hanania.com)… watch the video at Youtube.com/@rayhanania (mailto:Youtube.com/@rayhanania)or go to the audio podcast at www.RayHananiaOnPolitics.com (http://www.RayHananiaOnPolitics.com)
31 Mar 2025
03-30-25 Billy Marovitz Video Podcast Interview
03 30 25 Billy Marovitz Video Podcast Interview
S8 Ep 3
Ray Hanania on Politics Video Podcast March 30, 2025One of the elected officials I most admire is Billy Marovitz, who I first met when I was covering Chicago City Hall and have since maintained a friendship with him, seeing the vastness of all the things he has done.Marovitz is a guy who can’t sit still and has done many great things.He is a former Illinois legislator, who served in the Illinois House in 1974 and then went on to the Illinois Senate in 1980. He was only 25 when he entered politics, with no political allies, PACs or politicians behind his campaign. He rose to political influence serving as Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party for 25 years. As a legislator, Marovitz introduced and passed the Illinois Generic Prescription Drug Act which forced Big Pharma to sell Generic Drugs at a discount of 50 to 60 percent of their prescription costs, introduced the wrote and Hate Crimes Law, produced a musical celebrating the Cubs 2016 World Series victory, opened the Latin-Fusion restaurants Carnivale in Chicago and in Paradise Island, Bahamas, and hosts and interviews celebrity authors including New York Times Pulitzer Prize Columnist Maureen Dowd.Here is an interview I did with Marovitz, a true public servant with one of the most positive attitudes in American politics, that I think you will enjoy.For more information on my columns and the column I wrote on the interview, visit hanania.com.
9 Mar 2025
03-09-25 Ray Hanania in elections in CIcero, Orland Park, Orland Fire
03 09 25 Hanania in Cicero Orland Park Fire District elections
S8 E2
Veteran award winning political columnist and former Chicago City Hall reporter Ray Hanania talks about the top election aces this season in Chicagoland.
Hanania discusses the achievements of Cicero Town President Larry Dominick, who he does media work for, and all of Dominick's achievements. Dominick is celebrating his 20th year in office and in the Feb. 25, 2025 election, Dominick won re-election in a landslide, achieving the same percentage win that he did in his last contested election in 2013. (Cicero has seen a drop in voter turnout of 1,900 voters, which accounts for a slight reduction in percentage win but still an amazing victory for a mayor who has done so much to strengthen and change the image of the Town of Cicero.
The Cicero race is decisive and final and does not have an election on April 1. President Dominick will be sworn in to a 6th term as Town President in May 2025.Hanania also talks about the big race taking place in the April 1, 2025 General election that is in Orland Park, the largest city between Chicago and Joliet in the Southwest Suburbs. Incumbent Mayor Keith Pekau is going to lose to former Trustee Jim Dodge mainly because people are tired of Pekau's outrageous bullying and name-calling. Pekau doesn't tolerate public questions, has the worst transparency in the state for a municipal leader, and truly hates the people who question his consolidation of power in Orland Park over the past 8 years he has been in office, 6 of which he controlled the rubber stamp board.
Pekau and other surrounding mayors and supervisors all want to grab, merge, and consolidate the Orland Fire Protection District, which is the jewel in the crown of national firefighters. The OFPD has a fully funded pension that Pekau is drooling to control. Neighboring villages want to control the fire district, too, to shore up their limited fire department performances.The OFPD has a 71 percent Cardiac Arrest Save Rate, one of the highest in the Midwest if not the highest in the nation. The national Save rate is only 10 to 15 percent. That means if you live in the OFPD (which includes Orland Park, Orland Hills and some unincorporated areas) you have a 5 Times better chance of surviving a heart attack.
There are three slates of 3 candidates running to control the OFPD. One is backed by Pekau. Losers. Another is backed by a local supervisor and funded by donations from surrounding mayors who want to merge and consolidate -- they say they don't publicly but privately consolidation would be a financial windfall for them.I am supporting the Fiscal Voices for Orland Fire slate of candidates that include the only candidates with First Responder, police or fire experience:
OFPD Trustee Beth Damas Kaspar
OFPD Trustee Donald "DJ" Jeffers
Former Palos Heights CSO Bridget Tolan
Their website is
https://FiscalVoicesforOrlandFire.com
and their Facebook Page is
https://Facebook.com/people/Fiscal-Voices-For-Fire-Safety-Orland-Fire/61572978827101/
Check them out. If you live in the OFPD District support them to protect the Fire District from mergers and consolidation.
Get more information on all of this at my columns website at
https://Hanania.com
Thank you
RAY HANANIA
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
107,412
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
3.7 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 61 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
63
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
67
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