In this extra episode of The 602, Maddie and Sarah have a big guest in to talk about the major things happening at District 65. This coming Monday, the school board is expected to vote on a plan that would start the formal process toward closing two elementary schools, Dewey and Lincolnwood, along with cuts to programs and jobs. We talked to Interim Superintendent Dr. Eric Witherspoon, who joins us to explain what’s driving the district’s deficit, why he believes this plan is necessary, and why this feels so tough for the families affected by these decisions.

This week, Sarah and Maddie sit down with Ryan Flynn, board secretary of the Evanston Dems, to talk about what a local political party actually does, how its members decide whom to endorse, and how to stay involved between elections (even on the nights when the kids won’t eat dinner and you still have a meeting to get to). It’s all about community, friends! Especially AFTER an election.

Ryan tells us how he went from working on Capitol Hill to joining the Evanston Dems in part because he wanted to make friends and connect to people other than his family. We talk about knocking on doors, getting involved closer to home as Evanston’s special mayoral election approaches, and why sometimes getting to know your neighbors starts with a bonfire at Lighthouse Beach. And at the beginning we do a deep dive on everyone’s first concert <3

Find the Evanston Dems at evanstondems.com.

Find Ryann on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanfflynn/?hl=en

Evanston is heading into a special election for mayor and so we continue our mayoral series this week with one of the candidates: Jane Grover! We get into her experience and vision in the episode: why she’s running, her plans to stabilize the city’s finances and strengthen city services, and how she’d approach housing and economic development. We also talk about a bunch of other stuff like what it’s like to raise three boys, knitting, and having a chicken coop in your backyard.

This is the third episode in our mayoral series.

Listen to Daniel Biss here (his exit interview!): Apple Podcasts, Spotify

Listen to candidate Stephanie Mendoza here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify

And finally, Maddie mentions her other work, Chicago.com during our intro chat. Please have a look at all of the ways you can find community there, too: https://evanston.chicago.com/