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Thanks for listening to Chicago's Morning Answer podcast sponsored by Signature Bank. Signature Bank takes pride in helping customers grow their business and provide unmatched banking expertise, custom financial solutions, and the industry's best technology. So whether you're a business looking for a deposit relationship or needs a ready source of financing, Signature Bank is the right bank for you. Call today at 773-467. 5600 to hear how signature bank can help your business grow and thrive. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. This is Chicago's morning answer with Dan Proft on AM 560. The answer. Good morning. This is Chicago's morning answer on AM 560. The answer. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proft hosting my favorite radio show in the world and excited to do it. We're going to jump right into the news overnight. These. U.S. strikes in Iran are increasing. U.S. military launch strikes on Iran early. Tuesday morning, just hours ago, after President Trump said Washington is reinstating a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump separately suggested the United States will charge other ships for state passage, upending hundreds of years of American policy supporting freedom of navigation across the globe. This is reading from the AP. He explicitly said, He's only going to charge Iran. He's not going to charge, you know, every other country in the world coming through. Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jim Jordan, and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates, traveling through the strait, killing one mariner and wounding eight others. The Emirates threatened to retaliate against Iran, potentially drawing the nation home to Abu Dhabi. Dubai back into fighting with Tehran. Yeah, that might happen. Things are definitely escalating, and it's because Iran broke the ceasefire. Actions have consequences. This is what's going on. The attacks come as Iran and the U.S. both vie for control of the strait through which a fifth of all traded crude oil natural gas once passed in peacetime. The price of benchmark crude oil rose to a one month high of over $84 in trading early Tuesday, still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the war, but threatening to make costs everywhere higher. I'd noticed...

Gas prices going down a tad. I live in the great metropolis of Rochelle, Illinois. It's about an hour, hour 10 west of Chicago. You still live in Chicago years ago. My beautiful wife and I moved out almost two decades ago to small town America, which we're very proud of. And yeah, out here, it is, I don't know, 380 or so. And I hope it doesn't. escalate now that the war is escalating, but this needs to happen if Iran is going to be humbled here. And they're certainly not humbled. They seem to be emboldened because they aren't listening. And this ceasefire thing, they decided to just thumb their nose. They're testing Trump here. That's what they're doing. I don't think it is going to get better in the next couple of days. Just a little prediction. I think it might get a little bit worse. But I still have faith that this administration knows what it's doing. I still have faith that the world... with Iran not having a nuclear weapon is safe. I mean, is the ideal. It's a much safer world. And that's the whole, you know, that's the kind of North Star here. I was in that region, gosh, just a little over 20 years ago, as an active duty army captain in the very beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. And Kuwait, I spent most of my time and went into Iraq two separate times. during the, you know, first phase of OIF. And Kuwait was recently attacked by Iran. The UAE was recently attacked by Iran. They are doing as much as they can to flex their muscles. And this straight of her moves, obviously the epicenter of this entire conflict, is... going to be closed again and let's hope and pray that are members of the military there gosh i was watching some there's some um specific military ship you know u.s navy ship that hasn't docked in 200 days that's a long time in the navy that's a long time not to uh you know Touch land. They've been at war, essentially, for 200 days. And again, I have faith that things are going in the right direction because I have faith in our commander chief and I have faith in our military. The U.S. Military Central Command said it struck areas around Abu Musa, Bandarabas. A bunch of other targets in the Iranian coastal defense systems, missiles and drone sites, and maritime capabilities. Iran acknowledged strikes around those areas but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments. These strikes will continue.

imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military said moments after the military announced the new strikes, Trump called another major attack. We're hitting them very hard, and it will continue, and we'll see what happens. We're knocking out all of the offensive capabilities, and we're controlling the straits. We're putting the blockade back. There's only one radio show in Chicago talking about today's biggest stories and telling you what they really mean. That show is this one. Chicago's morning answer on AM 560, The Answer. Hey, business owners, is your business and money in good hands? Does your bank invest in your success? Hi, Mike Gallagher here, letting you know that when you need a relationship bank, signature bank makes commercial banking personal. I love these guys. Not only do they have expansive industry experience, a strong financial track record, but they're also highly capitalized for strategic growth. That's so important. That's why signature bank is my bank. They know what it means to grow a business by designing solutions that are right for you and only. you. These are real people. They're ready to help. So reach out to my friends at Signature Bank. Make the call today, 773-467-5630, or visit them online at SignatureBank.Bank. Bank. That's SignatureBank. Bank. Your business could be Signature Bank's next success story. Go online, SignatureBank. Bank, Equal Housing Lender, Signature Bank. Only the biggest stories. Only the biggest guests. And only the biggest opinions. This is AM560. The answer.

We're back on Chicago's morning answer here on AM 560. The answer. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proft. And we thank you so much for joining us this morning. I am a... regular listener to this radio program every single day literally every hour i uh i i sometimes stream it don't always listen on the regular radio or you know watch it on the youtube and uh i do not fast forward through the commercials i actually slow i listen to dan segment on 1.5 but then during the commercials i put it down to one and i listen intently And I take notes and I buy the products of the advertisers. Ah, see? I'm a radio professional. I did my own show for 15 years. Had Dan on when he ran for governor years ago. I did some work from Dan a couple years back after I threw my hands of the ring for Congress after I ended my radio show. And I'm still involved very heavily. And the political scene here in Illinois, chairman of the Ogle County Republican Party, which did a great parade in Byron this weekend, Byron Fest. We have a bunch of fun ones coming up. And this death of Lindsey Graham is hitting people really hard. It's hitting the political world really hard. I actually interviewed Lindsey Graham on my radio show. I pulled it up in the archives yesterday when he ran for president. Yeah, for about five minutes, he ran for president against Donald Trump and what, like 10 other people in 2015. And I'm not going to play the entire interview of Lindsey Graham back then. He did talk about Iran, interestingly. He did talk about his military service. He brought that home that... We don't have many presidents of years past. I mean, George W. Bush served in the military, but Obama did not. Clinton did not. And he said, hey, and, you know, President Trump didn't serve in the military. And he said, I served for, you know, I think he had just retired at the time of this interview. Anyway, the funny part of this is that he. Somehow Donald Trump during a stump speech, or I don't think it was during a debate, he gave out Lindsey Graham's phone number, his cell phone number, his actual cell phone number. And obviously that was kind of a, you know, prank, I guess, to Lindsey Graham, but he did get phone numbers and, or he did get phone calls and stuff from many people. Anyway, instead of, you know, getting all indignant about it or angry. He made lemonade out of lemons, Lindsey Graham, and he turned it into this funny, you know, commercial where he did seven different ways to destroy your cell phone. And, of course, you got a new phone. And then after Lindsey Graham dropped out of the race for president, he not just became an endorser of President Trump, he became one of his best friends.

I mean, this man had the ear of the most powerful human being on the planet and has had it. for going on, you know, 10 plus years now until his untimely death just, what, 48 hours ago? Listen to Lindsey Graham talk about this interaction with President Trump and the cell phone. And he does really give you a little window into the human being of Lindsey Graham here because he kind of, I mean, he was serious during most of the interview, but he kind of lightens up here at the end. And then he said something really nice about me. at the end, which most people who interview don't do. And he took a moment to say something just about how, you know, the interview went and how I should interview other presidential candidates like this. Anyway, here's Lindsey Graham talking about the cell phone thing from Donald Trump in 2015 shortly after it happened. The kind of light-hearted thing that happened earlier this year, of course, earlier a couple weeks ago, I guess, with Donald Trump, and this might be the longest interview we've done with a candidate without mentioning Donald Trump, he gave your cell phone number out on television, like your real cell phone number. Oh, absolutely. For listeners who were following that. Yeah. What happened then? Like, did your phone start blowing up with phone calls? Like, what happened there? Tell that story. Oh, my God. Michael, look in. Two minutes of him putting it out. I was getting a phone call every second. It literally blew up the phone. I had a flip phone, and we had a little fun. seven ways to destroy your phone, and the last way was give your number to the Donald, but I hate it with a, you know, a golf club of a bat, you know, put it in the oven, dropped it from a roof, and far-defined in flip phones that were stunt phones. But we had a little fun with that. All I can say about Mr. Trump is that I think I'm the best qualified to be commander-in-chief, and we don't need a novice running our military, the 1% who have been protecting us for the less. 12 years. I deserve somebody who understands their world who will have their back and can lead them to victory. And I can be that commander in chief. And the Donald is a force of nature. But over time, I think what I have to offer will rise. Who is calling you, by the way? I'm just curious, like, was it just random people? Was it political people? Did you have conversations? Yeah, it was people texting and calling, saying really good things, really nasty things. But you know what, if that's the worst thing ever happens to me, I'll be okay. I have all this. I got a new phone. So that's one step forward for mankind for me to get an iPhone. Right. Very nice. And for our listeners, if those listeners want to contact you, why don't you, why don't you give your new number out to them?

How about Lindsey Graham.com? Send money. That will help me as much as anything. Anyway, this has been a great interview. I wish you would be able to talk every candidate just like you have with me. What would you do in Rock and Syria? What would I do in a Rock and Syria? No, I'm saying. I wish you could talk to them like you've taught with me. Well, I appreciate that. And we try to give everyone a fair thing here. And, yeah, that is the one, and there's a lot of other issues, too. But I know that that's something that you can talk. How would you deal with the $11 million? What would you do? How would you do it? Yeah. I will ask that to every candidate, I promise. Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, best of luck on the campaign trail. Anything else you'd like to add, Senator Graham before we say goodbye? Pray for those who are in harm's way. Thank you for your service. The American people are going to pick the next commander in chief for our military. Pick wisely. Pick me. Thank you. How about that? Just what a sweet man, Lindsey Graham. Yeah, I know. Just like every politician ever. You're not going to agree with him 100%. You know, Rush Limbaugh, who I listened to since I was a teenager and all the way up until his death, called him Gramnesty. You know, he wasn't the biggest fan of him. He obviously wasn't right about every political issue. And he was definitely a war hawk. I used to be a war hawk many years ago. I'm not one anymore. But he was really steadfast in Ukraine and in Iran. and in Syria, he had, he wore the uniform too. I mean, he was in harm's way numerous times as a JAG officer in the Air Force. And, you know, he was a man who really, really charmed people. And he charmed President Trump so much that they played golf regularly. They talked on the phone daily pretty much. He was one of the last people that he spoke with before he passed away. Donald Trump. And him, you know, President Trump talking about that on, I think it was Meet the Press this weekend, that he literally talked with him, like, or he got a text from him one in the morning, talked with him, talking about passing the save act. And next thing you know, he's no longer with us. But there's so many stories. Obviously, so many of you have consumed over the last couple of days. Just him, you know. Charming Democrats, charming Republicans, and talk about somebody living his best life and living at the absolute apex of power, really, and influence. He never married, he never had kids. His sister, who he took guardianship of...

When she was 13 years old and he was still a teenager, his parents, their parents, passed away at a young age. He had to, and this is a guy who grew up in the small town mountains, South Carolina, you know, small business owner parents owned a bar slash restaurant, didn't come from money. Also, didn't finish his life with the sort of riches that a lot of these politicians have. you know, multi, multi-million dollars. They say his net worth was in the six figures for a man who, or in the six figures, maybe, you know, low million or whatever, for a man who had very close ties with the military, obviously, because he was in the military, and, you know, huge power and influence as a senator, he easily could have parlayed that into timely stock trades like so many of the congressmen have in Washington, D.C. He didn't do that. Never did that. Never took advantage of that. You know, there's no evidence of that. And he is going to be remembered as somebody who I think. Just was a quintessential statesman. And his sister is now the U.S. Senator, Darlene Graham Nordon. I assume that's how you pronounce it. And, you know, some people are belly aching about that. Oh, how does that work? There are countless. politicians, Democrat and Republican over the years, who's, you know, when somebody passes away, they turn the seat over to their wife or their, you know, relative for a short period of time. She's not going to be, unless she runs for this seat, she's not going to be the senator for more. I don't think she'll be as long as Roland Burris was. Remember that character? The 60th vote in Obamacare, you know, that just happened at the last minute. He is, or I'm sorry, Lindsey Graham's sister, Darlene Graham Nordone, will be the senator till just the beginning of next year and they're going to have an election. And if she runs and if she wins, that's the voters of, that's what the voters of South Carolina decided. But I think that it is a really, really, uh, Good thing that she, somebody who he protected when she was younger and who she, you know, is going to be the U.S. Senator from South Carolina, you know, until she's not. And, you know, if she runs, she runs and wins, great. But yeah, Lindsey Graham is somebody who. I know some people immediately jumped to the, wait a second, he was in Ukraine and he died really, really fast. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it's completely okay to ask questions. I mean, you know, Russians are, and Vladimir Putin in particular is famous for getting rid of people who he is not fond of. And, you know,

Linda Graham was a huge proponent of Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky and anti-Pudin. And how does this happen? He's totally healthy and then he's not. Well, there's a list here and I am learning a lot more about this aortic dissection cardiovascular disease that he died of. This is the same thing that took John Ritter. you know, from us in 2003. It's the same thing that Alan Thick died of, both extremely fast deaths. And, you know, this might be something that you listening to this right now. Might want to get checked. Me, you know, I'm in my early 50s. This renewed attention on this rare but often deadly. Cardiovascular emergency is known as iortic dissection. It occurs when the layers of the iorta, I hope I'm saying that, right, the body's largest artery come apart and the inner one tears. This is from Dr. Mark Siegel from Fox News. It can come on in minutes or days and may be hard to recognize. While dissections can evolve over time, symptoms often appear suddenly. Lindsey Graham is not the only notable figure to have died from aortic dissection. Like we said, John Ritter and Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Alan Thick happened in 2016 where he just was experiencing chest pains and then boom. He's gone. In 2016, in a 2016 article, I am sharing with you my expert thoughts based on limited information, but in light of an extensive career of treating hundreds of patients with erotic dissections, I can connect the dots that patterns have emerged from treating similar patients with erotic dissections. I don't know what they're talking about, but that is. a thing that happens when there's a sudden tear or rip in the aorta which can develop within a few heartbeats and it is not something again that they can check for like cancer it might just happen that might have happened here that's what the you know All indications are with Lindsey Graham that there wasn't, you know, sinister actors at play, but it still is worth checking into and not just jumping right into the, oh, you stop with the conspiracy theories, no. I mean, the guy was in, you know, overseas trip taking actions that. One of our, you know, adversaries is not exactly happy about Vladimir Putin. And he's famous for that kind of thing. So we will keep you all up to speed on the latest on that. But.

As it right now, it looks like the iortic dissection is what caused Lindsey Graham's death. All right. We are rubbing our hands together, and we've got a whole lot of awesome stuff lined up for you on this Tuesday edition of Dan Proft on Chicago's Morning Answer. I am not, Dan Proft. I am Mike Coolidge. I am absolutely thrilled to be filling in. This isn't just the greatest radio program in the Chicagoland area. It's the greatest radio show. in the United States. I firmly believe that. I am a lifelong radio file, and I started listening to Dan when he used to come on Don and Roma on that other radio station in Chicago, and then was super thrilled when he was running for governor in, what was that, 2010. He came on a bunch of times. I was super happy for him when he got the gig here on AM 560. The answer. And I've been listening every single day pretty much since. There's no other show that kind of combines the intelligence of the host with, you know, the humor and the great guests he has on. We do have some great guests lined up coming up. But I'll tell you, as I've told Dan before, whenever I filled. And I filled in once before with the great John Anthony. As... As bad as this show is today with yours truly as the host, it only can make Dan look better when he comes back, right? That's how it works. The stories you need to know to start your day. This is Chicago's morning answer on AM 560 The Answer. Hey, business owners, is your business and money in good hands? Does your bank invest in your success? Hi, Mike Gallagher here, letting you know that when you need a relationship bank, signature bank makes commercial banking personal. I love these guys. Not only do they have expansive industry experience, a strong financial track record, but they're also highly capitalized for strategic growth. That's so important. That's why signature bank is my bank. They know what it means to grow a business by designing solutions that are right for you and only. you. These are real people. They're ready to help. So reach out to my friends at Signature Bank. Make the call today, 773-467-5630, or visit them online at SignatureBank.Bank. Bank. That's SignatureBank. Bank. Your business could be Signature Bank's next success story. Go online, SignatureBank. Bank, Equal Housing Lender, Signature Bank. This is Chicago's Morning Answer with Dan Proft on AM 560. The answer.

and welcome to Dan Proft on Chicago's Morning Answer on AM 560 The Answer. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proff. Dan is on vacation. He's got a slew of decent people filling in for him this week. I put myself in the decent category. Everyone else filling in is outstanding, but not as good. As Dan Proft. You heard Mike Scott there in the news break. And my father... His father, last name was Coolidge, K-O-O-L-I-D-G-E. My father's father was World War II veteran. He died when my dad was only seven. And my stepfather, or my step-grandfather, asked my dad if he wanted to change his name to his last name, not Coolidge. And my dad and his brother thought about it, and they said, no, we're going to stick with Coolidge. But he almost switched to two, Scott. So I very easily could have also been. a Mike Scott. So you would have two Mike Scots this morning on Chicago's morning answer. So Lindsey Graham, he gave so much to this country, so much to... I mean, to people in his life who he loved, even though he never married, never had kids. His sister is taking over for his Senate seat. And, you know, there's an old line from Mr. Rogers about when terrible things happen or when there's a crisis. Look for the helpers, right? Well, there's a corollary to that, and that is when something bad happens in this modern age, when somebody dies, let's say. Look for the a-holes, I call it. People who just seem to have no sense whatsoever of humanity. And hey, if you disagreed with this guy politically, why, this is your chance to talk about how evil they are and how happy you are. that they're dead. And someone like Lindsey Graham, I mean, my gosh, he was a moderate compared to most conservative Republicans in the political sphere right now, right? I mean, he was, again, Russian Gunball called him Gramnesty. He was somebody who worked to try to change the immigration laws to make it easier for undocumented immigrants to become, you know, citizens. And, yeah, that was way to.

Far for me as far as my political, you know, philosophy goes. But he made friends. He was a good human being. He got Democrats sometimes to change their opinion. They called him the Trump whisperer because he changed Donald Trump's opinion about certain things. But there's nothing you can do to satisfy certain people. For example. Anna Cosparian on X after Lindsey Graham died. Are you offended that I said good riddance? Let me clarify. I'm elated that he's dead. Overjoyed. Just like he was elated at seeing countless dead children throughout the Middle East. Yeah. So because he disagrees with your foreign policy, you think that he was happy? That. Children died throughout the Middle East, based on, you know, in your opinion, Anna Kasparian. His policies, you know, resulted in that. There's an anecdote here. Peter Savidic posted on X that really kind of brings this home. He said, I once interviewed an American lawyer who had helped prosecute Nazis at Nuremberg, and he had watched them hang. And when I asked him to describe the experience, he said it was harrowing. Not because he had any misgivings about Nazis being punished for their crimes. Because we were talking about life and death, and it felt monumental. This is how normal people think. They don't celebrate death. Even the death of someone who did not vote the way they would have preferred he voted. They're certainly not overjoyed by it. Anna Kasparian was overjoyed by Lindsey Graham's death. They may come to the conclusion that it's necessary and just, and in the case of the American lawyer at Nuremberg, but they are also cognizant of the gravity, of the finality of death. They're not Bolsheviks or savages about it. How many times have we seen that? You know, these people with the, um, hate has no home, uh, kind of, uh, things on their lawn. The absolute first when, you know, Rush Limbaugh dies or when Donald Trump almost gets killed numerous times. Um, oh, sorry he, sorry they missed, you know, this kind of stuff. Uh, absolutely ghoul, absolute ghouls. So many of them. And. It often takes these circumstances or these, you know, events where somebody like Lindsey Graham dies. For you to see the A-holes, they're revealed for the world to say. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, too, they say. Well, that comes out, unfortunately, when this kind of, you know, when you see a death of a Republican or a conservative, so often. The New York Times, too. Drew Holden on X, even in death, the New York Times has more criticism for Republicans than terrorists. When Soleimani was assassinated, rightfully so by President Trump, this is how the New York Times.

posted this. Qasim Salamani, master of Iran's intrigue, built a Shiite axis of power in the Mideast. The commander helped direct wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, and he became the face of Iran's effort to build the regional block of Shiite power. This is how they characterized Lindsey Graham's death. The headline in the New York Times. Lindsey Graham had a complicated relationship with black voters. Mr. Graham, a long-serving senator from South Carolina, was known for his ability to maintain relationships even with his political blows. But the support of black voters remained elusive. Yeah. The paper of record, supposedly. That's how they treat a Republican in death and a... extreme enemy of the United States. Soleimani, yeah, he's, you know, a giant in Iran. 312-642-5600 is the AlphaWealthgroup.com talk and text line. You can text us at 312-642-5600 or call us at 312-642-4-2-5600. I love the callers of Dan Proff's radio shot. I love the regulars. that call in. I'm interested in your opinions too on this because I'm a regular listener myself. And the way I always would, you know, treat callers on my radio show for a decade and a half is, hey, when you're on the air, you're performing with me, right? You are, you are making radio for everyone out there as well. So Craig from Mount Greenwood. Go ahead, Craig.

AKA Mr. Coolidge. Okay, I wanted to mention something. See, I was basically a young guy in my 20s when that was those Persians that are in Iran there. There were free people, beautiful people. The place was to be better than probably like the United States or something like that. Just unbelievable. Those religious zealots. that are demonically led with that, like kind of, what's it called suicidal religion they have of just taking over the world. Same way they're doing it all over the place. That's what they did. They don't assimilate. They just take it all over and all that. Those people don't have the Second Amendment to, you know, be free, so they've been in bondage basically all this time and all that. What Trump's doing, if he found out the hard way trying to give them a whole bunch of chances. But those people have to be... kind of like annihilated because they'll never, they don't want to assimilate, they don't want to live in peace, they don't want any of that. They want, it's anybody that is not part of their religious system, they want dead. And so Trump, unfortunately, is going to have to give them what they live for, to mean, death. But instead of other people's death, their own death. Thank you for your call, Craig. I did watch a clip earlier of a, black conservative radio host interviewing a Muslim, an extremist, an Islamist. And he said, why don't you move to a... You know, you live in a Muslim country now. Why do you want to move to a country that's predominantly white like America? And again, this is a black conservative saying this, and he kept saying, America's not white. America's not white. And the reason I want to move to America is because there's a lot of non-Muslims there. I want to convert them. I want to convert them to my religion. And the same goes for... them moving to these type of Islamists who want to move to you know different countries in Europe they don't want to necessarily move there to many of them not you know I am generalizing here yes not to you know, just live a better life in a new country and follow all the rules. No, they want to spread their religion. So the next question was, okay, well, then would you have a problem if I as a Christian went to Saudi Arabia or to a Muslim country with, you know, a cross around my neck and a Bible and tried to convert Muslims to Christianity? Oh, well, no, absolutely not. You know, that's against the law. You could go, you could be punished by death in certain Muslim countries if you were to do that. It's a one-way street, apparently. George in Naperville, you're joining us on Dan Proff, Mike Coolidge, in for Dan. Good morning, Mike. What happened to the old saw, don't speak ill of the dead? By all accounts, Lindsay was a good man. Yeah.

That's a fantastic point. Thank you, George. That used to be the norm. That used to be what was expected when somebody passed away. And while we're all alive right now. Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, you know, there's a good chance that they're going to, you know, meet their maker in the next decade or so, right? These famous Democrat politicians. And just pay attention. Watch. Are you going to see, you know, conservatives or even some sitting Republican office holders? online say oh good ridden so i'm glad he's gone i guarantee you it's it's there you're not going to see that kind of thing some rando faceless nameless anonymous person on uh x yeah you'll see that kind of stuff uh but people like anna casparian and uh you know all of these people like when charlie kirk was assassinated My gosh, there's a Facebook page called God, all right? GOD. And it's this, and it has a, you know, cartoon of God on there. And it's obviously not God. And it's obviously not even somebody who's Christian. It is a parody. And it's kind of like this, you know, ironic. I'm sure it's run by atheists. And I. Subscribe to it just because I like kind of seeing what the extremists are up to. And it's, you know, just populated entirely with leftist extremists. And but when Charlie Kirk died, when Donald Trump had his second assassination attempt, or his third or his fourth, it was insane, the kind of glee. They just openly express. So many people, like this is on Facebook where you can just see their names right there. The people who, you know, their identity is associated with, not anonymous at all. Just absolute glee of seeing someone die. 312-642-5600 is the AlphaWealthgroup.com talk and text line. I am Mike Coolidge in for Damproft. You can follow me on X. K-O-O-L-D-G-E is how you can find me there. And if you follow me during this broadcast, I will follow you back. K-O-O. L-I-D-G-E. All right. We will be right back on Chicago's Morning Answer here on AM-560. The answer, stay with us. The more you listen, the more you'll know, this is Chicago's morning answer. Morning Answer. On AM-560, The Answer.

You know who the frontrunner is for the Democrats right now? By like double digits? Do you want to hear from the frontrunner for President of the United States for 2028? Okay, you know, this person is going to be running either against Marco Rubio or JD Vance, probably one of those two. Listen to the brilliance of the frontrunner as we stand here today for the Democrat Party. for the 28 presidential nomination. And you are having an incredible impact. I travel our country. Young girls, boys, people of every gender background race watch the W. Yeah. And understand how inspiring it is. So keep doing what you're doing. You guys are impacting people who you may never meet. People who may never know your names or mine. But they are aware of what you are doing, and it is giving them a sense of their value and their dignity and what they have a right to expect from this world. So congratulations on this game, but congratulations as much as anything else for the path you guys are charting. It is extraordinary to watch. That's it. I just...

Congratulations on the game you are playing. Congratulations on the life you are living. Just by living your life, you are inspiring others to live their lives. By breathing alone, you are inspiring others to breathe. Do you understand the actions you take? inspire others to take action. I got to hand it to her. That, of course, was Kamala Harris, the most brilliant mind ever to run for president of the United States. She has a gift, and that is to say absolutely nothing. The most vapid, meaningless phrases. You can possibly be put together, but make it sound like she's saying something profound. That is a gift. I thought Barack Obama was good at it. He was slightly smarter than her. I will say that. I don't think he was as smart as so many of the people who worshipped him. I think he was good at it too. He would sometimes go off on those little tangents and talk about like, you know, hope. That's something that is good. And we should be hopeful. She is the smartest people or the smartest person, the Democrats have right now, apparently, who's running for president. And she is in first place. And I hope, speaking of hope, I hope she somehow finds a way to come out on top in the 28th. presidential nomination for the Democrats. Can we please have that? There are some others that are throwing her hat into the ring. But right now, as it stands, she's got the name ID and she has the polling lead. That's right. Kamala Harris. You heard it. You heard the brilliance of her or something. The stories you need to know to start your day. This is Chicago's morning answer on AM 560. The answer. If you're looking for the latest news, insight into what it means, and the sharpest opinion. There's only one station at Chicago where you can turn, and it's this one. We're AM 560. The answer.

Welcome back to Dan Proff. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proff on Chicago's morning answer on AM 560. The answer. Joining us on the phone right now is the newest chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Bob Grogan. Bob, welcome back on to the show. Thank you. Yes. So I understand you were just in Washington, D.C. You strolled on into the White House there. Why don't you tell her Illinois listeners particularly what that was about and how that was. Did you meet President Trump? Did he tell you we need to flip Illinois red? Well, first I have to say, you can't just stroll into the White House anymore, unfortunately. Those days are long gone with security and such. They have to take that very seriously, you know, level upon level of that, getting searched and wanded down and everything. I did not get to actually talk separately with President Trump. I was within, you know, about five feet of him there when he came and addressed the group. He got to talk to all the county or the state chairman. from across the country. It was very, we spent a day meeting together with R&C talking about the prospects for the midterms. I will tell you, it's not nearly as bleak as history would point to it. I think the Republican Party is in really good shape relative to, you know, the normal six-year itch that sometimes can happen. We are financially poised. You know, the Democrats, like, literally have negative cash balances. They got burned out there in that Virginia referendum and some other things. And the Republicans are doing really well from a fundraising side. And then we just have really strong candidates and a really good game plan. Yeah. I got to think, you know, the traditional history says that. The party in power loses seats in the midterms, and whoever's in the president, the opposite party wins. But I don't know. I'm looking at a lot of the polls, and it looks like the Senate might be safe for Republicans. And the House, I mean, that's always a crapshoot. There's not really any polling for congressional seats or rarely is there. But here in Illinois... Do you see any possible flips in the congressional delegation before we get into some of the other races? Yeah, you know, I don't want to jinx anyone in particular, but, you know, we've been really focused in on, obviously, I think we're going to successfully defend the three spots that we already have. And the Democrats, I mean, they really did overreach on their gerrymandering on that. I mean, they literally, you know, they assigned it to an AI program. Could you gerrymender anything as bad as you do in Illinois? And it struggled.

you know, to be able to come up with a map as, you know, disadvantageous to Republicans. But in doing that, they have to create some districts that are, you know, there's only so many Democrats to go around, right? And so, you know, we do definitely have some, we have some really good, strong candidates on the congressional side who are, you know, really doing actually above expectations already, whether it's fundraising, grassroots organizing, social media likes and clicks. And so we really, I think we could surprise people. And Illinois, by the way, like the Democrats are in charge here. So if people are mad at how the direction of government in Illinois, you can only blame the Democrats. Yeah. They have super majorities, listeners, in case you didn't know. And that obviously is a huge battle coming up, trying to just gain a couple of seats in the House or the Senate in Springfield. I'm looking at a list here of... Seats that here in Illinois, talking about, you know, Springfield seats, State House and State Senate seats, that could flip either way. Doris Turner in Springfield, Senator, Representative Brandon Schweitzer, Republican in Danville in the 101st, Amy Murray Brewer, running against Liz Bishop in the 76. That could flip. House St. 65. uh, Dan Auguste, uh, Harry Benton, this, uh, this character in, uh, at a playing field, this Democrat in 90s, or in 97, who I think the latest on him is that he's, he's gone, right? Or he's not going to be on the ballot. Um, right? Yeah, and then a couple of other decisions. Any particular seats, or do you want to talk at all about the possibility of us flipping some seats so that we're out of the super majority or the super minority, I should say, come January? Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, you listen to a lot of the ones, and some of them are, they're tough on our side, and they're going to be tough on the other side. Really, the difference is if people, apathy is truly the opponent that we have to deal with right now. Folks, you just can't yell at your radio dial. You actually have to show up and visit the polling station or, God forbid. Do a vote by mail or something like that and actually get the votes in. It's about turnout. You know, actually the biggest one that I think is most disturbing of all the race that unfortunately is not a race is the one down in Champaign where Representative Ammons was just indicted for federal fraud charges and conspiracy charges. Basically, she was, you know, funneling money to her daughter through the state's budget. She had been warned about it, and she went around, you know, what she had been warned about and continued to do it. And the worst thing about this is the Democrats, the way they have rigged the rules is we literally can't run anybody against her. We didn't get anybody to file for the primary. And so, therefore, we can't even, even though she's under indictment, we're not allowed to even have a convention or slate somebody to run against her.

That's how the Democrats have, they always protect their own. They're always trying to protect those incumbents. And they honestly, you know, it said old Chicago saying there's nothing to see here, keep moving. Yeah. Prosecutors are alleging that starting in 2017, Ammons and her daughter received. Financial benefits in excess of $100,000 via a scheme including illegal payments from the, quote, Friends of Carol Ammons campaign account and from payments made to Titiana Ammons from local nonprofits that receive state grant funds arranged by the lawmaker. But, I mean, this is, this is par for the course for Democrats going back to the Madigan years, right? Yeah. And then you couldn't even, I mean, this wouldn't even be plausible on an episode of the West Wing. You know, then that Representative Ammons' husband is a convicted felon already. Now he's in charge with a new felony. And he's the county clerk in Champaign County, which means he as a convicted felon indicted future felon, he is actually in charge of counting the votes for the entire county. You know, so, I mean, this is, it's just, unfortunately, this is, you know, the symbolic of the entire democratic ecosystem that this is the way that they operate. It's not about doing what's best for the public, doing what's best for the citizenry. It's about what's doing best for their family's, you know, pocketbook. You know, I was just thinking about this with the World Cup. I spent last weekend or the weekend before that in Chicago and talked to a bunch of random people on the street who were following the World Cup. I mean, like people from other countries who were here visiting the United States and wanted to experience Chicago, even though there isn't any World Cup stop happening. in Chicago, there hasn't been. And he asked me, this guy I talked to, I think he was from Austria, he said, why isn't anything in Chicago? And I said, it's because when FIFA came here years ago to kind of talk about how they could bring a bunch of money and a bunch of business and a bunch of, you know, tourists to the wonderful city of Chicago, the Democrats in charge just didn't play ball. They didn't. I mean, it just shows you the, you know, there's so much corruption in Illinois with Democrats, but there's also just utter incompetence. The whole rest of the world is seeing how wonderful the United States is, but they're not, so many of them are not seeing our region because of the incompetence of Democrats. You can blame that directly on Democrats. Yeah, at some point, you know, that. The voters, I think they're learning, but I think we all learn slower than we'd like to, and the voters are not different from that. I mean, governance at some level should matter. I mean, to some extent, it's almost probably better that the World Cup didn't come to Chicago because, you know what, there would have been some crime and we would have gotten even a worse reputation. I mean, it used to be, I mean, I've backpacked around the world a couple times. I've literally been to 50 countries. I'm not a normal Republican.

And, you know, I would show up in other countries and they're like, where are you from? Like Chicago. And they're like, the older folks would say, you know, Al Capone, bang, bang. And then the younger people would be like Michael Jim Jordan, you know. And, you know, you kind of, you almost cringe because you're just, we're just one more headline away. I mean, look at the headlines just from yesterday. Like we had a 10-time convicted felon who had been, was on an ankle monitor. And he, like, disappeared for a week from, you know, the tracking. And they found him in the governor's backyard. I mean, the only reason we even hear about it is because it actually happened to the governor. Right. But this is happening every day. He's at, you know, these guys are in normal people's backyard. And they don't get the attention. Bob Grogan is the new chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. The state-wide races. Governor, Bailey v. J.B. Pritzker, Brian Drew, running for Comptroller. That's an open seat. Secretary State, Diane Harris. Don Tracy, running for U.S. Senate. Do you want to talk about any of those races? Yeah, sure. I mean, I can talk about them all. I will say just yesterday, I met with Darren Bailey for, you know, we actually, our paths were going to cross. He was in one neck of the woods. I was in another neck of the woods, and we figured out that we were going to be going down the same highway. So we met at a coffee shop for an hour just to sort of talk through strategy and how things are going and how we can, you know, the state party can coordinate better with his, you know, with all of his just huge number of volunteers and the passion that he's bringing out. You know, Don Tracy's campaign is very exciting. I think that, you know, of anything that might get some national attention, obviously the Senate is a huge deal. And the Democrats have put forward a very weak candidate in, you know, Lieutenant Governor Stratton. Extremely weak. Yes. And, you know, fortunately, they had a very divisive primary. I don't think it is healed. And so, I mean, I think there's real opportunities for us to make inroads and some people that have supported some of the Democrats in that primary, you know, some of the more middle of the road folks. And here's a dirty little secret. I know some people don't like to talk about this. You cannot win in Illinois on Republican votes alone. You know, a third or more 40% of the voters are independent. We cannot just recite, you know, Republican platitudes and expect to win, even with 100% turnout of Republicans. We actually have to convince people that our candidates are better. And that's what I really, I find is you say, well, you know, you always vote for the most qualified person, right? Well, Don Tracy vastly more qualified than strat. 100%. 100%. Yeah, we have two of the weakest. We already have an extremely weak senator in Tammy Duckworth and Julianna Stratton. Gosh, those two. I certainly hope when the dust settles that were not represented by those two people. So get out there. Republicans, vote, organize, and...

Join your local Republican Party, become a precinct committeeman, mail your vote in early. There's so much we can do, and we're just getting started here in mid-July, 2026. Bob Grogan, anything else you want to add briefly before we say goodbye. You know, I want to add to your list of things to do and then talk to your neighbors. It isn't just about people who pay attention enough to listen to a radio station like this. It's also the people who are completely disconnected and too busy in their lives. Talk to your neighbors and tell them what you're, you know, how the candidates you really like to. 100%. Thank you so much, Bob Grogan, for coming on to Dan Proff. This is Chicago's morning answer on AM 560, The Answer. It's like a hot, steaming cup of information to start your day. It's Chicago's morning answer on AM 560. The answer. That sound means it's time for another installment of in-depth history with Frank, the history teacher from Arlington Heights, because there's nothing new in this world, just the history you don't know. And Frank does. Frank, take it away. Good morning. The 30 years war was a decisive conflict in European history. After the peace of Westphalia in 1648, the new dominant powers included France, not led by Cardinal Mazarin for the young Louis XIV. The Dutch also became masters of the sea and commerce having the gilder as a sort of reserve currency. And the other new power was the very Protestant Sweden, which came to prominence because of the battlefield exploits of Gustavus Adolphus in the 1630s. Within two decades, the Baltic Sea became a Swedish leg. By the end of the 17th century, however, a very tall and burrish, Peter I, Romanov, took the throne of the still-rather medieval Russian state. Yet his ambitions for his country would eventually lead to what became known as the Great Northern War from 1700 to 21, which was basically fought over the building on a tiny piece of real estate, his window on the west, St. Petersburg. Swedish Charles III X12 launched this war to halt Russia's advance, leading to an early victory at Narva along the coast. Peter was not impressed, though, so the Swedes invaded and the results were predictable in that giant of a country, defeat at Poltava. But the Swedes still dominated the Baltic with huge warships. Peter knew his history, though, that Themistocles had defeated the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC with smaller, more mobile trirene. So he built his own more numerous flat-bottomed rowboats, which used boarding tactics to defeat the Swedes at the Battle of Gengut in 1714, leading Russia to emerge as a major European power. Is the same type of asymmetric warfare being done now by Ukraine with drones in its long war with Russia? And more importantly, is Iran employing such tactics on us in its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. We don't know yet, but if the Strait is so vital, and if we can take it and hold it, why haven't we yet? The midterms are coming. If one really believed in all this, no need for further delay. We don't need our own 30 years war. Wow, that was great, Frank. And with the recent news of the last 24 hours, it looks like we might have the Straits of Permuz now, no?

Well, I mean, I wrote this a day ago. I don't know all the exact stuff, but have we taken the Strait of Hormuz in the last 18 hours? In the last 24 hours, we've really upped our attacks on Iran, and President Trump has said that we're going to take it, and the only people who will be paying are Iranians who want to come through that straight. But I've got to ask you, Frank, because I listen every day. How did this come about? You doing these great segments, you know, real history. I love them. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Well, I was doing, I would call in, and I used to do a lot of imitations for Dan. So like Senator Susan Collins of Maine, she's got a different race she's facing now. And I would do others. And then I think Dan just suggested I do this, and it's just kind of grown from there. Well, I love it. It's a regular thing I look forward to every Tuesday. And you listen regularly too, right? Oh, yeah. Listen all the time on the way to school and in the morning. So I'll be listening the rest of the day. Yeah. Well, I appreciate you listening. Even though Dan Proff is not here, I am not Dan Proff. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan. Frank, the history teacher from Arlington Heights. Thanks for joining us again. This is the morning show. More Chicago radio listeners are choosing. This is Chicago's morning answer. An AM 560. The answer. This is Chicago's morning answer with Dan Proft, an AM 560. The answer. Greetings and welcome to...

Dan Proft on Chicago's morning answer here on AM 560. The answer. Dan Proft is off. I am Mike Coolidge that's spelled with a K-K-O-O-L-I-D-G-E. I'm absolutely thrilled to be filling in today on my favorite radio show. I hosted my own radio show in my own right for 15 years and loved it. And... occasionally still fill in on other radio programs. However, this is the first time I'm filling in solo on not just my favorite radio show, but... The Greatest Radio Show in all of America right now. Yeah, it is. I listen every single day, I'm a listener like you, and I'm so thrilled that you, listening to this right now, are still listening, even though Dan Sullivan off, right? There's some great villain hosts this week I know scheduled Chris Crock yesterday. I know that John Anthony and Jeannie Ibes and... some others as well. We'll tell you as the show continues. But we cannot thank you enough for listening to AM 560 The Answer. And we've got so much more coming up this hour and the one after that. Right now, though, we're going to jump right into our first guest this hour. And that would be John Tillman. John Tillman is the founder and CEO of the Hall of Giants. and museum and cultural institution focused on entrepreneurship. He, of course, used to lead the Illinois Policy Institute, and he was a semi-regular on my radio show for many years. But this Hall of Giants is a super interesting and ambitious project, and John Tillman joins us on the phone now. John, welcome on to AM-560 The Answer. It might be with you again. It's been too long. Thanks for having me. Yes, it has. And, wow, when I... became aware of this Hall of Giants project. I mean, this is super interesting. Tell our listeners who don't know about it how it came about. Well, the greatest force for good in America is our founding principles, free enterprise and capitalism, and the entrepreneurs of our country from the founding to the present are the ones who drive those systems and create the prosperity. And it used to be a universal American value that we respected them, cherished them, and appreciated them. Today, if you're an entrepreneur and your mortgage to the hill, wondering if you're going to make your next payroll, everybody likes you. But if you make it to the penthouse and have a private jet, you're now an enemy of the people not paying your fair share and oppressing people, and I think that's outrageous. So I had the inspiration some years ago to build a Hall of Fame. We call it the Hall of Giants to celebrate American entrepreneurs and the role they play in serving the American people well by solving our problems and providing goods and services. The only way you become successful in an entrepreneur is by serving other people well. And I think that lesson has been lost. So we're not going to build a run-of-the-mill museum. We're actually building essentially an amusement park with a Hall of Fame and Museum hiding inside of it. So we'll have immersive and experiential rides like you do at Disney World and other amusement parks. We'll have a time traveling ride where you get on a buckboard wagon in 1776 and eventually travel.

steamship, a locomotive, an automobile, a jet airplane, and disembarked from a rocket ship on Mars. And along the way, we'll tell the stories of the great entrepreneurs that made all that possible. And we'll do that in every aspect and walk of life. I mean, it's one of these ideas that you immediately think, gosh, why didn't someone else think of this first? It is brilliant. And there's so many stories that entrepreneurs. that, you know, American history and really world history, but so many of the greatest entrepreneurs who've ever lived in the United States, so many stories that young people don't know about. And now it's becoming increasingly clear. Middle age people don't know about. It's, so the, when the, when it is done. And, you know, you talked about an amusement park and, you know, a museum kind of hidden in that. Can you give us a little tease of what sort of stories we might hear about? I mean, obviously the biggest name in the world right now as far as accomplishment, as far as an entrepreneur goes, is Elon Musk. But, you know, you go backwards to Steve Jobs. You go back to, you know, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford. Those are the famous ones. But then there's... tons of entrepreneurs with success stories that we don't know about. And that I assume is what Hall of Giants is trying to highlight. You hit the nail on the head. We're going to tell the known stories that have been lost, and we're going to tell the unknown stories that have never really been told. And one of the great things about America is we have an infinite number of these kinds of stories. So the ones that are well known to history, but the details have been lost like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney, Andrew Carnegie, Rockefeller, and all the rest. We're going to bring them back to life and change them from cardboard cutout characters, often billified, and tell their real story and really tell. the story in a very personal and human and dramatic way so that people can really connect to them as the people who they were. And then there's lots of unknown stories. One really great story is Madam C.J. Walker, the first African-American millionaire made her money many over 100 years ago through cosmetics for African-Americans. One of the great stories in our history. We have stories from all over the country. We're starting to collect those stories. And if your listeners have things, they want to. share with us, they can go to our website, Allogions.org, and share those stories with us. We intend on collecting, we are actually on a tour of the country right now with a big temp going to fairs and other public events as part of the U.S. 250 tour, celebrating America's birthday. And we're collecting local stories from cities all over the country. And we're going to incorporate something from every state and major city and even small cities into the exhibits that we do as well as the right experiences we create. Yeah, this website is awesome. Hall of Giants.org. And right at the top, there's a bunch of names of some entrepreneurs you might know and some you might not know. Like Dick Yingling, founder of Yingling Brewery, Robert Unanu, I hope you're saying the right, founder of Goya Foods, Sarah Blakely, founder of Spanx, Mark Andreessen, founder of Netscape, David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby. I mean, some of these men and women.

started from literally nothing. I mean, the old, you know, uh, trope about finding or starting a business in a garage, so many of them did exactly that and turned these ideas into small businesses, into medium sized businesses, and then giant businesses that employed, uh, thousands, in some cases, tens of thousands of people. And I've got to think, too, that you're battling this. kind of uprising we're seeing of late of these young, extremely uninformed and ignorant people who are seemingly to be fighting against the concept of entrepreneurship and wealth and, you know, achievement. And that's a cultural thing that's reared its head of late. Do you want to comment on that? Yeah, well, that's one of the main motivations. All of this idea came back, came to me originally in 2012. And I had the same reaction you expressed earlier as I couldn't believe it hadn't been done. But I was giving a wrap-up talk after then Governor Daniels spoke to the Illinois Policy Institute event. Mitch Daniels of Indiana. Yeah. Exactly. And he made some comments about the fact that President Obama then had talked about, you know, quote unquote, you didn't build that, denigrating the efforts of entrepreneurs, building businesses to serve other people well. I was really quite offended by that because I've been an entrepreneur most of my life, and I built many businesses, both in the for-profit and non-for-profit sector. And believe me, when you're laying awake at night, wondering if you're going to make your payroll, you built it. And nobody came to help you but you. You have to figure it out. And they have to sign the lease. You have to put your whole life on the line to try to build a business that does a singular thing which should serve people well. And these young people, you're talking about, have completely lost focus on that. They have no idea how fragile the system is. but mostly how absolutely beneficial the system is. The founding of this country in 1776, along with the book The Wealth of Nations, John Locke's writings from that century, it's really the first time in human history that sort of what the modern people on the left would call toxic masculinity. But, you know, man's nature to conquer, to dominate, to achieve, to build, to grow, throughout all of human history prior to 1776. We had Genghis Khan, Attila Hahn, Napoleon, lifespans were in your 30s. The way you succeeded is through power and domination, and otherwise, if you couldn't do that, you submitted to it. In 1776, because of the founding of this country, all of that energy was directed to positive things, not destructive things, to rather constructive things, by building businesses that served other people well. And that is what the youth of today has lost. And that's part of the story we're going to tell. Our listeners can go to hallofgions.org to read more about it. You've got a really... List of heavy hitters here on your advisory board, Stephen Moore, Dr. Larry Arne, president of Hillsdale College, Kim Dennis, former president and CEO of Searle Freedom Trust. Is there any sort of timeline, not to put you on the spot, but I know it doesn't physically exist yet, but in your perfect world, John Tillman, CEO of Hall of Giants.org, when can we expect to see in...

you know, again, in an ideal world, Hall of Giants becoming a reality. Well, we've got to raise about $275 million, and we're on our way to doing that, and that is a big lift in a gigantic capital campaign. I anticipate it's going to take us someplace between two and four years. And so our target date to break ground. The earliest is probably 2029, latest 2030. And it's been a very fun and, you know, experience raising this kind of money because these are very different sorts of gifts. Any gift is helpful. Anybody that gives a gift to $5,000 or more right now goes into our founding Giants category. We'll have a special part of the Hall of Giants dedicated to people who come in early and help provide the prime-to-pump fuel at this early stage. And we're working with a number of people, about a half a dozen people, for some of those larger gifts. Eventually, we'll need about 41 of them ranging from $1 million to $75 to $100 million. And it's been one of the most exciting things I've ever done in my life. I've had a great run and had a lot of fun experiences, but this has been truly most exciting, interesting, challenging, and I think could be a cultural changing for the country. I couldn't agree more. You know, I come from the world of politics and still am deep in it. And so much of it has to do with winning the next election or, you know, making sure or trying to have your particular party, in my case, Republicans, winning over the Democrats. And then, but then, you know, in a couple years, it changes and the pendulum swings, blah, blah, blah. You're talking about something of permanence, a museum that generations to come. could be inspired by. And I'm, uh, I'm, I'm just going away by it. And I hope our listeners who might want to contribute or might want to be a part of this, uh, can find on hall of giants.org, uh, the way to do that. Uh, John Tillman, uh, head of Hall of Giants. Is there anything else you want to add before we say goodbye? No, that was very kind of you and I appreciate it. And people can go to Hall of Giants.org get our mailing list, get updated. We'll send us some material out prospectus or a case for support and our vision for the whole operation. We'll have another issue of our very beautiful and very popular magazine coming out a little later this summer. So if you get on that list, we can send all that to you. Become a Hall of Giants founder as we speak. We will be right back on AM 560, the answer. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proft. Stay with us. There's only one radio show in Chicago talking about today's biggest stories and telling you what they really mean. That show is this one. Chicago's morning answer on AM 560, The Answer. We're back.

On AM-560, the answer, Mike Coolidge, and for Dan Proft, today only. K-O-O-O-L-I-D-G-E is my... handle or actually it's my last name but it also is my handle on x and uh yeah you guys have uh have followed through i asked if you wanted to follow yours truly on x and i'll follow you back um but you have to be a real person not someone with like two or three followers literally who just joined like you know gotta have a couple of posts Maybe a handful of followers. That's totally okay. You got to be a real person. I don't like following people who don't exist. And I do want to say, too, that we're not the only ones who are filling in today, or I'm sorry, this week. And I had it. You see, this is why. Rush Limbaugh, the great El Rushbow, and I am, yes, a Rush Baby, he had a stack of stuff. He printed things out. The problem is when you do a radio show and you rely on the internet, if their internet goes down, which it is right now, or at least temporarily, it really messes things up. So something you are looking for is not there. I am going to ask... The great listeners of Dan Proff's radio show, the following question at 312-642-5600 on the AlphaWealthgroup.com talk and text on. You can text in or you can call. What is your favorite thing that Dan says on the show every morning? Lavender Boond. Dilettante. He calls a lot of people dilettantes. Eric Reinhardt, the Lake County woke prosecutor.

Saki, LGBTQIA plus plus plus plus plus plus plus plus plus plus plus which of those are your favorite and which ones am I forgetting? I asked Justin, you know, through the magic of communication, which ones I'm forgetting? Lavender Boone, dilettante, Eric Reinhardt, Jen Saki, LGBTQI-A-plus, plus, I know I'm forgetting some. Help me out here, Dan Proff's listeners. Either which ones am I forgetting at 312-6-4-2-50-600, you regulars, or... uh what am uh which ones which one of those are your favorites um justin or quin do you have a particular favorite you don't have to say it on the air you can just talk into my ear

Jen Sacky. Jen Sacky, of course, she was the, I want to say she was the state's department's spokeswoman before she became Biden's spokeswoman. And I was like, this is an intern who is. like in this job. This is not somebody who is actually serious. She seemed to be like a 22-year-old being a spokeswoman. And then she was, you know, spokesman for Biden. And now she's got her own show on MSNBC. Yeah, that is a good one. And I do not. My favorite, I think, is the lavender boond, which I had to look up what boond mean. Was he referring to something? Is that a phrase that's from somewhere else? No, that is a damn proff the original, lavender boon. The stories you need to know to start your day. This is Chicago's morning answer. On AM 560, The Answer. Only the biggest stories. Only the biggest guests. And only the biggest opinions. This is AM 560, The Answer.

John from Portage Park has a favorite Dan Proft hatch phrase. We already said lavender booned, dilettante, Eric Reinhardt, Jensaki. What's your favorite, John? I got three of them, really. I like bull drives. I like fake allergies, spice, and tiny dancer. Those are all originals. Tiny dancers definitely are an original to Dan. I do them sometimes. Yeah. I hope I don't get copyrighted for instance on this. Also, I think Boole refers to a Nazi. No, I looked at Boond. It's just a, it's an association. It's just like a group of people. In the 30s, the Germans had boons. Yes, well, yeah. That, you may be right there. They had boons. I don't think it's just specific to the National Socialists of Germany. But yes. And there's one more I forgot of, and I don't know if you were one of these, John, but honky. He uses honky. Yeah, yeah, honkier, yeah. I like gold jazz, the best. Which I think is a holdover from the Jeffersons, because you don't hear honkies much in the vernacular anymore, but I am, I myself have a honky, and I know many of us honkies don't hear that term that much. Well, thank you, John, very much. All right, it is time now for a particular musical interlude for Mark Lennon from WirePoint. Let's take it away. Insert Democrat Socialist here. Runs the Democratic House law for 30 plus years running. He's promising this and he's stealing that. Where can you get that kind of money? He's using your house like his own piggyback, gang, gang, gang, gang, gang, you ought to know by now. You can pay all your house here in Illinois. You can never keep up with the taxes. Although it's always been the plan To have a taxpayer pay no doubt Not a matter of if anymore but when

I said, when you're moving out? That's right. When are you moving out? I hope you're not. I hope you're sticking around. I am a Illinois transplant. I've lived here since the year 2000, so 26 years and counting. I love the state. I hate how it's run. It's number one in... Highest property taxes, number one in highest combined state and local taxes. Number one in all of the following, highest cell phone tax, local government bureaucracy, fiscal instability, lowest bond rating, lowest state pensions funding percentage, state government pension debt, state government pension debt per capita, most public corruption in a federal district, biggest tax increase since 2019. Number one in eliminating school choice programs, number one in lowest fiscal transparency, number one in gerrymandering, and number one in Big City Murders. Mark Glennon from WirePoint joins us. And which of these, I hate to use the term favorite, Mark, but which one of these is your favorite to talk about, I guess? Oh, boy. What a forced choice you're putting me into. You know, they're all bad. And, you know, it's the fiscal situation, I think, especially in Chicago. Chicago is the tip of the spear. And, you know, we're getting some attention paid to it nationally from the press. It might have to do with the mayor's race and Democrats speaking up about it, you know, particularly Susanna Mendoza. who, you know, there's a Wall Street Journal article, a Financial Times article over in London, a number of others that kind of say the same thing. We didn't post them all at wirepoints. But, you know, this has rekindled, and it's a good thing that if the press only wants to cover Democrats' comments, which they're inclined to do, it's a... a bit of a blessing to at least have them talking about some of these challenges we face. And as I say, I think Chicago, it's pensions problem. Pension problem is a key key to its financial problems. There are other aspects of the problem. But that's the worst thing going in Illinois right now, I think. Yeah. And it's one of those things that is compared with, let's say, you know, big city murders us being number one in and some of the other stuff uh pension sounds it's it's kind of dry you know like oh if you don't work for the city or if you don't work for the state government uh you know who do you care about who cares about the pension thing no you're paying for These pensions, these extreme pensions, and they're underfunded. They're going to bankrupt the city in the state, if nothing is done about them. And I hate this phrase because it's used so often, and it's a cliche, but it's applicable here. Just kicking the can down the road just happens again and again and again with these. And, I mean,

We're going to fall off this cliff, are we not? Yeah. The phrase we always use is deny, delay, extend, and pretend. That's kicking the can down the road. And that's their approach to most everything, particularly pensions. And it's worsening in Chicago. And by the way, remember Chicago, we were sold a bill of goods about three or four years ago. They passed a new... funding formula that many assured us in the press and in Springfield was going to at least put those pensions at tread water status. That is to be putting in enough money to at least keep them from getting worse. Well, you know, the new financial statements came up from Chicago. They got worse again. That hasn't turned out to be true. We are not on a true arc ramp, as it's called. In other words, we're not treading water even. And we were hoodwinked. And welcome to Illinois. That's what happens here. This piece in the Wall Street Journal. Today talks about Chicago property taxes, ranking amongst the highest in the nation, yet residents are receiving fewer and fewer public services as pensions consume about 80% of Chicago's property taxes. So think about that. If you're listening to this in Chicago right now, you're a Chicago taxpayer. Any taxes you... Pay in Chicago, as far as Chicago taxes go. It's not paying for the snow plows in the winter. It's not paying for potholes. It's not paying for the meter maids. It's not paying for the parks being cleaned up. I mean, some of it is, but 80% of it is going to pensions. And the benefits just keep getting better for a lot of these pension recipients, no? Well, that's maybe the most scandalous thing is that, remember Springfield controls the rules on these, of course. And they increased benefits for two of Chicago's pensions funds. And again, this came out in those new financial statements from Chicago, that that added another $8 billion to the pension liability for Chicago over the years coming through 2055. It's got a present value of... 1.7 billion. That's a lot of money. You can't be increasing pension benefits, obviously, while we're in this kind of crisis. I mean, just astonishing. The Wall Street Journal, among others, has written about that before. And, you know, that's constitutionally protected now. To change that, you'd have to change the Constitution. Yeah. And, I mean, I know there's talk about. opening that up again and having a constitutional convention, but you need people to go to the polls and vote on that after collecting, you know, tens of thousands of signatures. So I don't have a lot of optimism that that's going to change anytime soon. Now, there's this other issue for people like me who used to live in Chicago, but now live way outside of it in small town.

Illinois, but I still love coming into Chicago and visiting. It's still my favorite city in the world, even though it's, you know, absolutely atrociously run by incompetent buffoons. But there are... Teen takeover of things happening all over the city all the time. There's a piece in city journal about this. And, you know, this is the kind of thing that I definitely, you know, look over my shoulder a little bit more than I used to when I come into, you know. walk on the magnificent mile or go see a show or go to a Cubs game or a White Sox game. What is the what is the latest on this scourge of teen takeovers in Chicago and is the mayor, the current mayor, doing anything about it? Yeah, thanks for calling out that city journal piece. It's posted on our site and the center account. They do a wonderfully thorough job on this topic as they usually do, going through all the alleged causes of this. And their bottom line, however, is that it's lax enforcement and the pro-crime culture of tolerance that grew out of the George Floyd murders. And the police have been handicapped. They quote the number of policemen in there. from here and around the country. It's a national problem, of course. But we've got it in particular. They devote quite a bit of space in that article to Chicago's problems. But that's it. I think they're spot on, and that tolerance. Runs through the family, of course. Silly kids. Where are the parents? Yeah, where are the parents? And that's true. But the police have their hands tied. One of the cops, Chicago cops in there is quoted saying, look, 30 years ago, you know, we'd go in there with our batons and tear gas and, you know, rubber bullets, loading, whatever we need in this, because this would have ended. Can't do that anymore. No. And, you know, they get sued up the wazoo. And that's. That's the fundamental problem. Kids being silly is what Brandon Johnson labels him as, right? Kids being silly. I know WirePoints is nonpartisan. How much of the mayor's race can you talk about or at least the playing field is... Johnson going to run for re-election? Are you getting indications on that? I don't even know because I'm not a Chicago anymore and I'm really even follow if he's announced anything yet or when he might do that. But obviously Mendoza and Quigley or who else is a couple of people running for who've already announced that they're running for mayor, right? Yeah, Quigley. And there's a physician, a Ph.D. who has.

indicated she she's running. It remains the shakeout. And our secretary of state, like you, Jimenez too. The guy who gives driver's licenses to illegal aliens, yes. Yeah, that guy. He can't rule Brandon Johnson out because of the runoff system that we have. You know, it's possible that better selections that Brandon would split the vote and Brandon would get into a runoff. I can't see him getting reelected. I would say that Medea is the front runner, although, you know, when she ran last time, she didn't even make it to the runoff, you know, so she's a great vote getter statewide. You got more votes than J.B. Pritzker, by the way. She's the top vote together in the state, but didn't seem to run well in Chicago, so we'll see if she can overcome that. I don't know. I just, you know, we had Rob Grogan on earlier, the chairman of the Republican Party of Illinois now, who talked about going all over the world and talking about Chicago. And, you know, it's shameful that the reputation that city has now, this city, I should say, biggest city in my state, Chicago, the reputation it has now for crime and for just mayhem. And just pure incompetence, really. I mean, no one's talking about property taxes in other, you know, outside of Chicago, other than Chicagoans. But everyone's talking about the crime and the lack of seriousness that the mayor seems to be taking on that. And with the, I know, recent superintendent of the police stepping down who seemed to be a solid guy, that's a big question mark too with how the police forces is going to be run. I know there's... Good things being said about the interim chief, but that's going to be a big deal too, right? Who the mayor hires to be the police chief? Yeah, and the cost of that damaged international reputation is hard to measure, but it's got to be huge. I was in Poland and Ukraine in May, and believe it or not, you know, and I tell people of Chicago, it came up sometimes. People were aware of our problems there, despite all the, you know, Ukraine had all the problems they have. Yeah. Things they have to worry about, but they're aware of what's going on in Chicago. Well. You know, it's partly because we have a big Ukrainian community here, so they're probably in contact with us, and those people are reporting back home what's going on here. But, yeah, it's a, you know, how are you supposed to have a world-class international business city when you have that kind of reputation for just gross malfeasance in government?

Well, let's hope, I mean, anyone's going to be better than Brandon Johnson, but let's hope it's not another, you know, Marxist neo-Marxist who's in charge of things the next, when this municipal election is over. Mark Glennon, wirepoints.org, anything else you'd like to add before we say goodbye. No, Mike, that covers it, and I appreciate your coming on, filling in for that tracker, Dan Pross. He's out on the beach, some place, cooling off. No, he's on the golf course. You know where he is. He's on whole eight or nine right now. I saw a great picture he posted on one of the Indiana golf courses, really nice one. But I'm sure he'll make it to the beach or the dunes soon. But I appreciate it, Mark. I always love hearing you on Dan Proff. And, yeah, hope to interview you again. This is Chicago's morning answer on AM 560, the answer. I'm Mike Coolidge. In for Dan Proff. We'll be right back. This is the morning show. More Chicago radio listeners are choosing. This is Chicago's morning answer. An AM-560. The answer. This is Chicago's morning answer with Dan Proft, an AM-560. The answer.

And good morning. Still, this is AM 560 The Answer. And I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proft. And I'll be filling in for the rest of this hour. Been filling in all morning. And having an absolute blast because I'm hosting my favorite radio show. on the planet. Chris Crock filled in yesterday. John Anthony is filling in tomorrow. Amy Jacobson and Jim Muriel will fill in on Thursday and Jeannie Ives and Jim Murillo will fill in on Friday. I know all of these people, except for Chris Crock and Jim Muriel, but I've heard them all on these airwaves and they're fantastic. But none of us, I'm sure they all agree, are as good as Dan Proft. And I've really enjoyed, you know, listening to and... talking with the listeners to this great program because I am one myself. It's one of the things that you try to develop over time as a radio host, and Dan has for sure. And that is a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood and sisterhood with your listeners. You know, it's like this part of your life every day, this ritual that you do, and I do it every single day, that you need to consume. And I'll freely admit, it's going to sound odd or ironic. But when Dan Sullivan not in, I often am like, oh, okay, well, let's see her it is. If it's someone I know or I like, I'll listen. If it's not, I won't. Or, you know, I'll do other things. But you didn't decide to do that today. You decided to continue to listen. And we very much appreciate it. But that is something that Dan has developed over time. right this sense of um you know camaraderie and fellowship and dare i say booned uh lavender booned uh you know with listeners of this radio program. Now, I did not hear until a caller called in earlier that that is something associated with the National Socialists of the 1930s in Germany. But I know it's an association, the term boond, you know, group of people. The lavender boond is what Dan, of course, calls the LGBTQIA. I always forget the 2S, plus, plus, plus, plus, I always forget the 2S, sorry. The dilettantes, the Eric Reinhardt of Lake County, the Jen Saki. Honkies and Bull Drive. Those are the other terms that... frequently come out of the lips of Dan Proft. And if you have any others that I'm forgetting, or if you have a favorite, I'd love to hear it at 312-642-2-5600. That's the AlphaWealthgroup.com talk and text line. You can text it in or you can call in 312-6-4-2-5600. What is your favorite of those? And is there one or is there one I am forgetting? And honestly, I don't mind asking this. What's your favorite thing about

This radio show. About Dan Proff show, I mean, not Mike Coolidge filling in for Dan Proff. I mean, the regular Dan Proff radio show, because I myself am a listener. I'm part of that boond. I am part of this regular listenership to the show. And, you know, it's weird when I see Dan in person sometimes, like at the golf outing or at an event. You know, I've worked with Dan in the past, and he used to come on my radio show when I was a host for 15 years. So, you know, I know Dan off the air. But even now, when I see him, it's like I'm a little bit starstruck almost because it's like, oh, this is a guy I listened to every single. And if you have that similar experience, you know, that maybe you listen every day, you never call in, but maybe you... have met him in person and stuff? What is it about this show that you enjoy? I just love the monologues, honestly. The guests are great too, but the monologues that he gives, and he gives them so extemporaneously, you know, he's not reading off of something that he wrote for the most part, I don't think. He's just going off the top of this head, and it's... Brilliant. And I learned so much from him every single morning. Speaking of reading things, so Victor Davis Hansen, one of I know Dan Sullivan favorite people. Mine too. I helped stand up a podcast a couple years ago for Dan Proft. I was the executive producer behind the scenes on it and the counterculture podcast. And one of the great guests he had on early on, which had tons, tens of thousands of views, was Victor Davis Hanson. And he, to me, Victor Davis Hanson is one of my favorite thinkers and just thought leaders on the right. And I always kind of turn to him when I'm. not quite sure how I feel about how things are going, particularly in foreign affairs. And right now, we have escalated, in case you're just waking up or just tuning in. We've escalated things in Iran. The president did in the last 24 hours. And Victor Davis-Hanson writes, in today's American greatness, America's allies are stronger, its rivals weaker, and the global... balance has shifted. Thanks to President Donald Trump, the world made anew. With a whimper rather than a bang, the world has become a different place than it was in January of 2021 when Donald Trump left office. Almost everything we are now told about the global status quo is mistaken, largely because critics focus on what Trump says rather than on what he does.

Rather, the left and some on the right are furious whenever Trump tweets, says, or does, something that offends their delicate sense of taste, tradition, and decorum. Their outrage leads them to ignore whether this Art of the Deal theater ultimately leaves the United States stronger. More often than not, it does. We are not bogged down in a forever war with Iran. Israel is not without friends and is more regionally dominant than at any point in its history. Radical Islam, whether in the form of the Iranian regime, Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Houthis is at its weakest point in half a century. China is recalibrating nearly all of the assumptions it has held for the past two decades. Russia is humiliated and hemorrhaging. Latin America is more pro-American than ever before. So let's start with Latin America, writes Victor Davis-Hanson. In 2013, John Kerry boasted to the Organization of American States that the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over. He may not have anticipated how naturally his declaration would be interpreted throughout the Americas, the non-United States Americas, that the Obama administration would no longer act unilaterally to prevent distant hostile regimes from establishing spheres of influence in the Western Hemisphere, and indeed Latin America subsequently witnessed a wave of left-wing and sometimes overtly communist governments emerging during the Obama and later Biden administrations. But that left wing wave is over. Instead, here's where things stand as of July of 2026. Latin America has swung decisively away from communism and toured Washington over the last few years, since Trump is back in office. Broadly speaking, the governing pro-American or right-leaning administrations include Argentina, Javier Millier, Chile, Jose Antonio Cost, Bolivia, Rodriguez-Pasperia, Paraguay. Santiago Peña, Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, Panama, Jose Raul Molino, Honduras, Nostraif Svura, Costa Rica, Laura Fernandez, N. El Salvador. Naibu Keli. These are all pro-American right-leaning administrations. That's a lot of countries in Central and South America. Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are both pro-United States, and the new conservative governments and new conservative governments will soon take power in Colombia and Peru. Only Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Uruguay.

remain governed by hard left administrations that are either openly anti-American or friendlier to the China-Iran-Russia axis than to the United States. Why these dramatic changes? There are many reasons, but one stands out. The United States now helps its friends and harms enemies. China is now backing away from its efforts to control the Panama Canal in the face of U.S. pressure. Venezuela is no longer a Stalinist bully exporting death and destruction to its neighbors. Instead, Trump captured and jailed its thuggest chivista president, Nicholas Maduro. Russia and China once bought sanctioned Venezuelan oil on the cheap, but no longer. Almost all illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America has abruptly ceased for the first time in history. By the way, coming up later this hour, we are going to talk to Ron Vitaleo from Border Patrol. Yes, right here on this radio program, about the border. In North America... The Carney government in Canada is finally rethinking its pro-Chinese, urophilic anti-Americanism, after welching on its 2% defense commitment, running up a $5 billion trade surplus with the United States and loosening security along its side of the border. Now, a new Canadian-American relationship is emerging. Canada is pledging to meet its defense commitments. All trade issues are on the table, and the shared border is more securely. Trump has enormous leverage over an often duplicitous Mexico. That country's anti-American posture is hardly surprising, given the concessions the United States has long extended to it. Mexico received some $65 billion annually in remittances, much of it sent by illegal aliens who were often subsidized through American entitlement programs. Most had their entry into the United States effectively greenlighted by Mexico. Mexico has run up a $200 billion trade surplus under the guise of free trade, and its drug exporting cartels have killed thousands of Americans while pouring billions of dollars in drug profits into the Mexican economy. Trump, however, can sharply tax remittances, reduce Mexico's trade surpluses, halt all illegal and much illegal, I'm sorry, halt all illegal and much legal immigration, and end cartel infiltration. realities that Mexico apparently still has not fully grasped. We'll get into the Middle East on the other side of this break. This is Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proft on AM 560. Chicago's morning answer. We'll be right back. This is Chicago's morning answer. Your show keeps me alive during the week. There's nobody I'd rather listen to between 5 and 9 in the morning than you guys. On AM 560, the answer.

I've got some jelly and some peanut butter. We are back on Dan Proff. I am not Dan Proff. I'm Mike Coolidge, K-O-L-L-I-D-G-E. You can find me on X. I'm thrilled to be filling in on the greatest radio show in... the world, and I happen to be a major listener every single day to it. Victor Davis Hansen, the world made anew in American greatness writing about the Middle East, thanks to President Trump. The Middle East is now a suddenly different place. Whatever the final denouement with Iran, or denoment with Iran, Tehran... or Tehran, has lost a half-century and half-trillion dollar investment in its military and nuclear industrial complex. The once feared bully of the Muslim Middle East has been humiliated and exposed as a paper tiger, with its economy and perhaps its very existence, now dependent on the disposition of the Trump administration. It leaves Israel alone because it knows the Jewish state can target any of its unhinged leaders whenever hostilities resume. In a development that would once have seemed surreal, Israel is providing intelligence and missile defense to the Muslim Gulf states. which are effectively fighting alongside the United States and Israel against a fellow Muslim nation. Hamas has been crushed. Hezbo's once feared missile arsenal and many of its crazy leaders have been largely eliminated. The hoodies, lacking any credible air defenses, know that every missile they launch at Israel or into the Red Sea could cost them another port facility or power station. Lebanon is reawakening from its 50-year coma. Russia lost its last client in the Middle East with the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Neither China nor Russia can supply Iran by land, sea, or air, nor can either purchase its sanctioned oil. America's allies are going stronger while the China-Russia axis grows weaker. Soon, the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's supposed Trump card, will be nearly as irrelevant to global energy markets as it is already to the United States. Existing pipelines that bypass the Gulf are being expanded while new ones are planned or are already under construction to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Oman beyond the Strait. The United States is the largest producer of oil and gas in history and does not need Middle Eastern oil or gas, or for that matter, much of anything else besides.

Europe publicly despises Trump. Privately, however, many Europeans concede that his antics compelled them to meet their long-neglected 2% defense commitments and inspired their new pledges to spend 5% of GDP on defense. Although the medicine initially seemed worse than the disease, Europe now quietly acknowledges that Trump was right. and just in time to accelerate rearmament as Russia pressed westward. If left unchecked, Europe's embrace of near total disarmament. shocking demographic decline, unending hostility toward fossil fuels and nuclear energy, mass illegal immigration from the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere, and steadily expanding socialism will turn the continent into a third world hellhole. Yeah, it's on its way there, so much of Europe. The United States is allowing Ukraine to both manufacture patriot missiles and to strike targets anywhere inside Russia, yet Trump remains almost alone among Western leaders in describing the war as a tragic waste of hundreds of thousands of human lives that must end. At the same time, he has given President Volodymyr Zelensky greater targeting leeway and access to more controversial weapons than any previous president. We don't have time here to read about Russia and China, but that's big. But Victor Davis-Hanson concludes. Meanwhile, with the departure of the Biden-era DEI apparatus, the U.S. military has exceeded every one of its recruiting goals, all of which had in recent years been anemic. The Pentagon will soon oversee a defense budget approaching 5% of GDP, the largest since the Iraq and Afghanistan built up in 2008. Its weapons procurement system is undergoing revolutionary changes, placing as much emphasis on quantity and affordability as on quality. The booming U.S. economy now produces $31 trillion in goods and services, roughly one-third more than either the more populous European Union or China. America is pulling ahead in most of the next generation fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, genetic engineering, and cryptocurrency. Its stock market is at record highs. Add it all up, and the picture is almost surreal. At the very moment the left insists that the United States has grown weak and isolated, America and its allies occupy a position of global preeminence not seen since the end of World War II. Victor Davis Hanson in today's American greatness. You've made the switch, and it feels so good. You switch to Chicago's morning answer on AM 560, the answer. Only the biggest stories, only the biggest guests, and only the biggest opinions. This is AM 560, the answer.

Good morning. Welcome back to Chicago's morning answer on AM 560. The answer. Dan Proft is on vacation this all week. Well deserved. I am Mike Coolidge in for Dan Proft. Find me at K-O-O-L-I-D-G-E on X. And we have in studio. Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Deputy Commissioner and Director of ICE, the only person to have led both components of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Ladies and gentlemen, Ron Fetillo, welcome back onto the show. Hey, thanks, Mike. I appreciate being on the answer with you. Yes. So I know that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has got a lot going on. now, a really lot going on. And you are maybe looking for a handful of new employees. Why don't you tell us about that? Yes, absolutely. A lot going on on the border in a good way. As it relates to the physical border, it's never been safer. I've been around this work for about the last 40 years. The border's never been safer than it is right now. There's about 100. The end of this week, there'll be about 140 new miles of border barrier to add to the 700 plus that was already out there. So total, it'll be a little over 1,400 miles of new wall before the end of the Trump administration. We're in the process of, and ahead of schedule for completing that wall under budget and on time, ahead of time, actually. We're also in the process of hiring 8,000 new CBP employees, both on the customs mission side, customs and border protection officers. We're looking for 5,000 net new there. and 3,000 net new Border Patrol agents all over the country. And so if people are interested in joining a great team that protects America in a significant way, I would like them to go to join CBP.gov. Let's join CBP.gov and take a look about a career at Customs and Border Protection. It is a great place to be, and we're doing really good things for the American people right now. join dot cpb that stands for customs and border production cbp.gov and you know I was at the border I took my radio show there a couple of years ago all the way on the San Diego side the end of it really in the Pacific Ocean and it was really fascinating what you, what, what, uh, what, uh, CBB is doing, CBP is doing, uh, as far as not just the physical wall, but there are, uh, virtual and smart walls, uh, there to stop, uh, illegal aliens from coming into the United States, too, right? Can you talk about that? Yeah, it's very important that the wall in and of itself is a form of a barrier. It keeps people from coming across the border. It slows others down. And more importantly, it provides an anchor for all of the things that agents have to do at the physical border. What I mean by that is you can hang tech on it. You can bury tech underneath it. You can put sensors in the ground and lighting so that it makes the work of the agents safer.

it makes them more effective and it warns them when people are still trying to come across the border. And so the wall and the technology along with the men and women of the front line help protect us. And so the more wall, the more agents and the more tech you have, the better off we all are in the homeland. And we're filling those requirements every single day, starting at the beginning of this administration. And like I said, we're going to have. over 700 miles a new wall before the end of this president's term, and we'll have 3,000 net new Border Patrol agents and 8,000 or 5,000 for a total of 8,000 on the Customs and Border Protection side. So making sure that the right people and the right things get into the United States and keeping the bad people and the bad things away from Americans. Yeah, you know, on the end of it, on the westernmost portion of it, it's water, the Pacific Ocean, obviously, and then it's a bunch of land. I've not been to so much of the border I'm sure you have that is water, like the Rio Grande. There's floating barriers, I understand, to stop people from crossing over the Rio Grande because a lot of the Rio Grande, you can. literally walk through, right? I mean, it's not a raging Mississippi River. I know it is in some areas, but in some places you can't walk through it. What sort of floating barriers is CBP have? So we've deployed a couple of hundred miles of the new buoy barrier. It's basically like a large float that's connected in the water by, you know, very strong equipment, iron chains and steel that hold it on the ground and hold it into the water and it just makes it very difficult for people to just walk across. you know, the shallow part of the water and come into the United States. They have to defeat that barrier. In many cases in South Texas, at the Real Grand, they'll have two barriers. They'll have that one that's in the middle of the river, which is our border with Mexico, and then there'll be a formidable border wall a couple of feet within the United States as well. So, yeah, all of that makes our jobs safer. It makes the work of agents and the tech that they use to accomplish their job more efficient. Can you talk about... The Supreme Court rulings that I think, I hope, has made CBP's job a little bit easier. For example, the whole catch and release thing and, you know, people coming across the border and claiming that they want asylum and then, you know, tripsing off into the United States, God knows where. That's ended now, right? That's right. Congress in its infinite wisdom gave, you know, the three branches when the Constitution was made. The Congress is in, you know, makes the laws, but they gave the president plenary powers in some matters as it relates to immigration. And so the court has finally seen it our way. We've been having some trouble in that regard with early contests in local district courts, but have prevailed at the Supreme Court so that the president could use his emergency powers to secure the border. And again, in ways I've not seen in 40 years. So that makes it much more effective.

It preserves the opportunity for people that want to immigrate legally, right? It puts more integrity into that system, and it keeps the bad people and those that are trying to sneak in. It gives us an endgame to remove them quickly. We're speaking with Ron Viteo. You can find him on X at Chief Viteaio. It's spelled at C-H-I-E-F-V-I-T-I-E-L-O on X. That's C-H-I-E-F-V-I-E-L-O on X. The bigger picture here. You know, if you go back, I mean, we talked, we started the show actually playing a clip of Lindsey Graham in 2015 talking about running for president against Donald Trump and his phone being destroyed as a kind of a jokey way. But also he talked about immigration back then. He talked about international affairs and all that. And just to put ourselves back. then what this country was like and what the cultural discussion was like in 2015 as far as securing our borders go. We had President Trump for the first term, four years, starting the border, physically building the wall. And then it all basically undone even worse than it was before by the four years of Biden. and basic red carpets laid out for anyone who wanted to come into the United States. Can this be done? Can the four... awful years of Joe Biden as far as border security goes be fixed by the end of Trump's term. I mean, ideally, I obviously want another Republican president after Trump and hopefully eight years after that. So we'll have a little bit more time. But God forbid, we get a Democrat back in the White House. How much can be done is I guess what I'm asking here through January of 2029? Well, we've gone a long way on the physical border. It's much more difficult to come into the United States than it was during the Biden era. It was terrible destruction of the border security regime that existed before he became the president after Trump won. And Trump, too, we've made great strides. We've got about a 95% decrease. in illegal aliens trying to cross the border every single day. Seizures of illicit narcotics are up both at the ports and in between the ports where the Border Patrol works. And so the physical border, we're well on our way to securing it in ways that I've never seen in 40 years. So we've made a real good stride in that particular part of the area. We're still at great threat in the United States because under the Biden administration, we had up somewhere near two.

20 million people that came into the United States illegally, many of them being released, many of them never being encountered by law enforcement at the border. So that threat still lives amongst us, and ICE is out there every single day trying to cover down on that problem, and there's a lot of work to do in that regard. So we're going to continue to keep making the border very difficult for smugglers and illegal aliens to cross, and ICE in the interior is going to continue to go after those people who have had their day in court and immigration court and are subject to removal. or have committed crimes in the jurisdictions in which they live and are subject to deportation due to that, or have come into the country illegally and are... are here. And so a lot more to be done on all fronts, but much safer than it's been. And to your point, this is about policy, this is about leadership, you know, with people like Markwayne Mullin and Donald Trump in office were much better situated. And that will be tenuous. You know, we'll have to make sure that the next leadership follows through on the border security regime and not let. Biden like presidency ruin what accomplishments we've made already at the border. It's just so frustrating because we have. When you look at the polls, vast majority of Americans don't want illegal aliens to be able to easily get into the United States. When you look at the polls, we want strong borders. We want a secure border. Most Americans, the vast majority, believe in the sovereignty of the United States. But when a Democrat gets into power... So many of the more recent Democrats, I mean, you've got to go back to Bill Clinton, who actually seemed to listen somewhat to the electorate. They don't, they don't listen to the electorate anymore. Biden certainly didn't. And so we could have, you know, 60, 70, 80 percent of Americans believing in a strong border, but a Democrat gets back into office. And, I mean, I'm just worried about it all just, you know. being thrown out, all this great progress being thrown out. Is there any sort of guard or any sort of optimism you have in the worst case scenario where a Democrat, you know, gets back into the presidency? Let's say, God forbid, Democrat, or just any politician, we don't even have to be partisan about this. A president gets into office in 2029 who is open borders. But there's a strong Congress that is pro, you know, sovereignty and pro-secure border. Can that standoff keep things at the status quo, you know, assuming the status quo is strong, you know, strong borders? Or would an executive have the power to undo so much of this through executive order and whatnot, even with a strong Congress?

So the Constitution gives us those checks and balances between Congress and the executive branch and the judiciary. So we can hope that whatever the next leadership is understands what their role is. But you're right to point out, you know, policy matters here. And if we have an open borders president again, like we did under Biden, it would be very difficult for the front line. It was very difficult under the Biden era for them to do their jobs. They weren't allowed to do their jobs. And I think the success that we've had and the continued... application of what we know works on the front line and having the right policies out of Washington, certainly out of the Oval Office, gives the Americans something to compare it to. It gives them a sense of comfort. And I think we're all going to pray that that continues. But it is it is something that we'll have to watch out for when it's time to select a new leader. Ron Vitale from Border Patrol. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our listeners throughout Chicago, Chicago land, and the Midwest United States before we say goodbye? Yeah, I just want to appreciate the time that we've had here. It's Vitello, by the way, just so we're all clear. No, no big deal. But CBP's a great organization. The people at DHS and the frontline employees are now empowered by policy and a president who cares about the American people. So if people want to join, please go to join.cbp.gov. And we'd love to have hardworking frontline. protecting American people to join our ranks. Yes. Again, you can go right now. Give the website one more time, please. It's join.cbp.gov. Ron Vitello, thank you so much for coming on to Chicago's Morning Answer. Thanks, Mike. We'll be right back. Before you see it on TV, share it on Facebook or read about it in the paper. Hear it here first. This is Chicago's Morning Answer. on AM 560. The answer. If the IRS any longer. End your tax nightmare today by visiting us online at t r a.com or call 800 5756745. That's 800 5756745. Tax relief advocates, real solutions for real people. What's with the ladder and bowling ball? I'm testing the unsmushable Qualix ultra foam in Penny Mustards motion sectional. But our foam is already proven to stay supportive and comfortable for the life of the sofa. Are you also dropping a St. Bernard on the sectional? No, he's here to rescue me when I fall off the ladder. The forever comfortable motion sectional. American made with a solid wood frame and hundreds of fabric and leather options. Starting at just 6295 at Penny Mustard. Seven Chicagoland showrooms. Penny Mustard.com. AM 560. The answer. What a blast. This has been.

I do love making radio. I did it for many, many years and a decade and a half. And now I'm just a radio listener, just like you. And I could not have had a better experience. Actually, maybe I could have. I know, like anything, you know, I'm somewhat of a marathon runner. You know, start off slowly and then get better. So if you go back and listen to these four hours, it does progressively get better, I promise. Don't tune out after the first segment. But, no, this was so much fun. And I can't thank Dan Proff's listeners enough. Again, for the rest of the week. Tomorrow is John Anthony filling in. Yesterday was Chris Cruck from Illinois, but out of Dallas, Texas. I'm here in Illinois. I've made my home here for, gosh, 26 years or so. And then Thursday is Amy Jacobson and Jim Uriot. And Friday is Jeannie Ives and Jim. And I'll be listening to all of them, just like you have been listening to... Me, you know, even though it's not Dan Proff. None of us are as good as Dan Proff. I promise you that. However, we do our best and we'll be listening just like you. I got to read some. I'm a lot on X and I do the bookmark thing where I... read something funny or interesting, and I decide that, you know, I might read that later or whatever. Spencer Pratt, gosh, I wish he had won, or at least won enough to be on the scene, you know, in L.A., to be on the ballot to run against Karen Bass, but he finished third or whatever, supposedly. He is... He's really hilarious online to follow. And he has this, he's commenting on this Fergie Chambers. This Fergie Chambers character is the heir to the Cox Media Fortune. And a major funder of militant pro-Palestinian groups. He was detained in Spain as the Trump administration seeks his extradition on federal charges carrying up to 30 years in prison. I can't play the clip of him because there's like cursing and stuff in it. But Spencer Pratt's comment, and this is just it in a nutshell, the modern communist slogan. You know, it used to be Workers of the World Unite. That's what the communist, you know, motto was. Now it's, I hate you, dad. Spoiled dorks stuck in their parents' shadows, eager to destroy society altogether because they hate themselves. That is the modern communist movement. These...

crazies, these extremists that got elected or will be congressmen like in New York, this triumvirate there. One of them is an out-and-out communist. The other one is a closet communist. And the third one is a socialist, Marxist, will soon be a communist. And they're going to be members of Congress. I have faith, though, that that will... Root the day. Communists will not win. And it's going to be thanks to shows like this and people like you. You need to speak up and stand up in your personal, local circles of influence and never, ever. be intimidated. The stories you need to know to start your day. This is Chicago's Morning Answer on AM 560, The Answer. Thanks for listening to Chicago's Morning Answer podcast sponsored by Signature Bank. Signature Bank takes pride in helping customers grow their business and provide unmatched banking expertise. custom financial solutions, and the industry's best technology. So whether you're a business looking for a deposit relationship or needs a ready source of financing, signature bank is the right bank for you. Call today at 773-467-500 to hear how signature bank can help your business grow and thrive. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.