The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Brandon Pope, of WCIU, political pundit Marj Halperin, and Austin Berg of the Illinois Policy Institute. The Rascals kick off the podcast talking about the biggest national political stories of the week including President Trump blaming DEI for the D.C. plane crash, Elon Muck’s DOGE taking control of the federal payment database, and having access to the Treasury, the Department of Justice looking into FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases. The Rascals unpack all the stories and take a deep dive into the DEI debate. This week, things got heated at a city council meeting over a controversial public art display at the Chicago Cultural Center. What to do the Rascals make of what happened at city council yesterday between Alder Conway and Alder Sigcho-Lopez? A new poll done by the Illinois Policy Institute and M3 Strategies shows Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s approval rating down to 14%. Austin breaks down the numbers. And what is the latest on the Bring Chicago Home initiative and Mayor Johnson’s plan for a Bears stadium downtown. And the possible trade war has even spread to sports as some fans have been booing the national anthem in response to tariffs on Canada. What will happen when Edmonton comes to Chicago to play the Hawks? Will the fans boo the Canadian anthem?