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A Four Star Podcast (Chicago, but Better)

A Four Star Podcast (Chicago, but Better)

By: Fox 32 Chicago
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A Four Star Podcast is a new series from FOX Chicago built on a simple idea: our city’s biggest challenges shouldn't just be endless points of debate—they’re problems with practical, attainable solutions. Named for the stars on our municipal flag, the show acts as a filter for the usual civic noise. We're moving past the "Chicago politics" headlines to focus on the actual quality of life issues that affect us every day. Whether it's the reliability of the CTA, the safety of our streets, the health of our business climate, or the reality of the housing market, we’re looking at the nuts and bolts of how this city really functions. Our goal is common-sense progress over political gridlock. By sitting down with technical experts, boots-on-the-ground advocates, and industry insiders—the voices you don’t always see in the local news cycle—we’re deconstructing the hurdles that keep Chicago from reaching its full potential. We aren’t just here to point out what’s broken; we’re talking to the people who know how to fix it. This is a blueprint for a more functional, ambitious, and better Chicago.2025 Fox 32 Chicago Politics & Government
Episodes
  • A glow up for the Chicago Transit Authority

    A glow up for the Chicago Transit Authority
    Jun 30 2026
    Better transit. Safer streets. Smarter Chicago. This is A Four Star Podcast. In the premiere edition of A Four Star Podcast, we dive into the nuts and bolts of urban survival in a city that often feels like it's working against its residents. Our thesis is simple: identifying the specific civic gears that are stuck and finding the practical, sometimes "guerrilla" solutions to grease them. We start with John Greenfield (Streetsblog Chicago) to discuss the "El Hygiene" crisis. From the "Halloween Miracle" that saved transit funding to the tactical urbanism of using hot dog cartoons to stop smokers on the Blue Line, we explore how to restore the CTA to its status as a world-class utility. Next, realtor Philip Schwartz pulls back the curtain on a bizarre spring real estate market that is punishing buyers. We analyze the BUILD Act and the legislative friction surrounding ADUs, alongside a warning for bungalow owners: your traditionally "dry" neighborhood is changing, and it might cost you $20,000 to stay above water. Finally, former CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy joins us for a heated look at Senate Bill 3564. As Springfield looks to restrict facial recognition technology, McCarthy argues that we are legislating away the very tools that solve modern murders, leading to a "hand-shy" police force and a decline in public safety. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open 01:24 The CTA: The Quality of Life Value 05:28 Chicago Transit's Halloween Miracle 08:53 Be More Like Paris 10:38 Poodle Noodles & Politics 15:28 El Hygiene 101 17:58 The D.C. Blueprint 24:03 Guerrilla Urbanism to Stop Train Smoking 34:33 Road Diets 40:13 The Waymo Pace Car 50:28 Digging into the BUILD Act 56:53 The One-Stairwell Debate 01:03:38 Big Prices: Resetting the Market 01:10:08 How Sellers Put Pressure on Buyers 01:18:23 The Wealth Gap 01:30:38 Chicago's Basement Flooding Realities 01:34:13 Why Cops Need Facial Recognition Tech 01:39:53 Legislators Getting in the Way of Safety 01:47:38 The Ferguson Effect in Chicago 01:54:33 Final Watch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 56 mins
  • Build More, Fight Less

    Build More, Fight Less
    Jun 30 2026
    Why is it so hard to build housing in Chicago? David Lapidus, a member of the pro-housing Chicago Growth Project, joins A Four Star Podcast for a practical, ground-level conversation about the rules, politics and economics that shape what gets built, what doesn’t and why Chicago’s housing debate is no longer just a niche urbanist argument. David is also a member of the pro-housing Abundant Housing Illinois and Strong Towns Chicago organizations, but in this conversation only represents his personal views and not the views of these two organizations or Chicago Growth Project At the center of the conversation is the fight between YIMBYism and NIMBYism. YIMBY means “Yes In My Backyard,” a pro-housing view that argues cities need more homes, more density and fewer artificial barriers to building. NIMBY means “Not In My Backyard,” the familiar neighborhood resistance to new development, especially when it means more units, taller buildings, less parking or visible change on a block. Lapidus has spent 15 years developing multifamily housing in Chicago, which means this conversation is not theoretical. We get into what makes projects pencil out, why rehab work has become harder, how labor shortages affect quality and cost, and why new construction can sometimes make more sense than fixing what is already there. From there, the conversation turns to Chicago’s unique political bottleneck: aldermanic prerogative. David explains how one alder can effectively stop a zoning change in one ward, why neighborhood opposition carries so much influence, and how Chicago often functions like "50 different cities within one city" instead of one coherent housing market. We also dig into the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, public versus private development, prevailing wage rules, soft costs, environmental requirements, elevator mandates, building codes, fire safety, and the uncomfortable question underneath all of it: when do good intentions become rules that stop homes from being built? The conversation eventually widens into politics. David argues housing is no longer a traditionally left-versus-right issue. It cuts across Democrats, Republicans, developers, renters, environmentalists and neighborhood activists alike. The real divide, he says, is between those who believe we can grow the pie and those who believe everyone is fighting over the same limited pieces. New episodes of A Four Star Podcast drop Tuesday mornings at 6AM. https://abundanthousingillinois.org/ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/keep-families-in-the-city-building-neighborhoods-for-lifelong-chicagoans-tickets-1992152874876 00:00 Cold open 00:40 Meet David Lapidus 01:58 What stops Chicago from building 08:11 The rehab problem 11:13 How much density makes sense? 16:16 The aldermanic veto 24:19 Why alders are hard to move 33:14 Is YIMBY gaining ground? 41:08 Private, public, or both? 45:40 Affordable housing math 55:36 When rules beat results 01:00:19 Codes, stairs and dead projects 01:10:26 Build more, fight less 01:14:26 Can housing change politics? 01:28:57 Where to plug in Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 38 mins
  • The danger of being a Chicago cyclist

    The danger of being a Chicago cyclist
    Jun 23 2026
    Riley O’Neil’s death hit Chicago’s safe-streets community especially hard. He was not just a cyclist. He was a CDOT planner who worked on making streets safer before he was killed while biking in Bridgeport. In this episode of A Four Star Podcast, Grant Horne talks with John Greenfield of Streetsblog Chicago about Riley’s life, his work, and what his death says about the way Chicago designs, debates, and prioritizes its streets. But Riley’s story is only the beginning. The conversation widens into a bigger look at Chicago transportation: the limits of paint-only bike lanes, the politics of protected infrastructure, the fight over parking and curb space, new express bus lane proposals, e-bike legislation, and what the CTA needs from its new leadership. Greenfield also shares his impressions from visiting the Obama Presidential Center site as the city prepares for its opening, and what that major South Side destination could mean for transit, biking, walking, tourism, and neighborhood access. It is a conversation about bikes, buses, trains, traffic, and development. More than that, it is about whether Chicago can build a transportation system that is safer, faster, more reliable, and more humane. From Riley’s legacy to the future of the CTA, this episode asks a simple question with complicated answers: how should Chicago move? https://x.com/streetsblogchi https://bsky.app/profile/chi.streetsblog.org https://chi.streetsblog.org/ 00:00 Coming up: Riley and Chicago’s streets 00:25 John Greenfield joins the show 02:30 Riley O’Neil’s story 07:30 A safe-streets planner killed biking 12:30 Dooring, bike lanes, and street design 18:30 Paint versus protection 24:30 Memorial rides and policy pressure 30:00 The broader transportation fight 34:00 Express bus lanes 40:00 Chicago’s e-bike debate 46:00 A new leader for CTA 53:00 What riders need now 59:00 Visiting the Obama Center 1:06:00 Transit, access, and the South Side 1:12:00 How Chicago should move Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
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