The Mincing Rascals this week are John Williams of WGN Radio, Eric Zorn, publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, and political pundit Marj Halperin! The Rascals begin the podcast talking about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota over the weekend. What were the biggest takeaways from the news this week? A Chicago teacher was placed on administrative leave after making a Facebook post supporting ICE. Do the Rascals think the teacher should have been put on leave? Also this week, the actor John Cusack wrote an op-ed in the Sun-Times about the need for paywall-free news coverage. Do the Rascals think newspapers should offer free content for major news stories? Next, the United Center will start selling THC drinks at concessions in early February. Where are the Rascals on offering THC beverages at the UC? Mayor Brandon Johnson is once again pushing for a progressive income tax. Do the Rascals believe this revenue proposal is a good idea? This leads into the race to replace Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate. What candidate is likely to replace Senator Durbin? And finally, it’s time for red light, yellow light, green light! What are the Rascals recommending (or not recommending) this week?