Chicago Justice Podcast

Tracy Siska
  • 4.3 (3)
  • Non-Profit
  • Updated Weekly

The Chicago Justice Podcast challenges the stories we're told about crime, public safety, and justice. Instead of accepting headlines, political talking points, or conventional wisdom at face value, we dig deeper to uncover what the data, research, and lived experiences actually reveal. Each episode features candid conversations with journalists, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and people working to transform the justice system from within. Together, we examine the policies, institutions, and power structures that shape who is criminalized, who is protected, and who is left behind. From policing and police accountability to gun violence, surveillance, incarceration, public records, government transparency, and criminal justice reform, we explore the complex issues driving today's debates about safety and justice. Some conversations are uncomfortable. Others are infuriating. All of them are necessary. Grounded in evidence, accountability, and a commitment to challenging dominant narratives, The Chicago Justice Podcast goes beyond sound bites to expose how systems really work and whose interests they serve. If you're ready to question assumptions, confront hard truths, and explore what real justice and public safety could look like, this podcast is for you.

  1. 3d ago

    Rooting White Supremacists Out of the Chicago Police

    Send us Fan Mail Chicago police officers showed up on leaked membership lists of extremist groups like the Oath Keepers. City leaders promised action and delivered slaps on the wrist. Now, after more than a year of work, the Chicago City Council has passed an ordinance that empowers the Chicago Police Department and the police accountability system to investigate officers' ties to white  supremacist organizations and remove active participants. We talk with the ordinance's chief sponsor, Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward), about why the law was needed, why it targets only the CPD, how it defines extremist organizations, why earlier efforts stalled under the Lightfoot administration, the delayed task force under Mayor Brandon Johnson, and what he hopes the ordinance will mean for police accountability in Chicago. Topics: Chicago police reform, white supremacy in law enforcement, Oath Keepers, extremism, police accountability, COPA, Chicago City Council, criminal justice reform. Support CJP: https://chicagojustice.org/donate/ Get Involved: https://chicagojustice.org/become-part-of-the-cjp-nation

  2. Oct 5

    Weaponizing Crime Data: Jeff Asher on Facts vs. Fear

    Send us Fan Mail Crime is falling in cities across America—so why does the public conversation sound like the opposite? Crime analyst Jeff Asher, co-founder of AH Datalytics and host of The Jeff-alytics Podcast, joins us to unpack how crime data is being misused, misread, and weaponized. Social media, misinformation, and rising partisanship have turned crime statistics into political ammunition. When leaders deny data that challenges their views and exploit single violent incidents for political gain, we lose the ability to understand what actually drives crime—and to fund solutions that work. In this episode: • Can UCR and NIBRS data be compared year over year? • Should we trust police department crime data? • Why real estate “safety” rankings mislead • How local media gets crime data wrong • How politicians exploit crime data • What worries Jeff most about how America uses crime data Support CJP: https://chicagojustice.org/donate/ Get Involved: https://chicagojustice.org/become-part-of-the-cjp-nation/

  3. Sep 28

    Blacked Out: The Montgomery County Traffic Stop Cover-Up

    Send us Fan Mail A stop for a missed turn signal and a dim license plate light should have been routine. Instead, it ended in an arrest on charges that don't hold up, and then in a fight over records that officials won't release. This week, Emmy Award-winning KPRC 2 journalist Jaewon Jung joins us to break down a traffic stop earlier this year in Montgomery County, Texas, and what happened after the video became public. Jung requested the deputy's personnel file and the sheriff's office's traffic stop policies. The department refused to release the personnel file, citing pending litigation, and the Texas Attorney General's office backed that decision. The policies were released, but they were completely blacked out. Both of Jung's appeals are still pending. In this episode, we discuss: The pretext for the stop and the tactics the deputy usedHow far the deputy strayed from the state's traffic stop guidelinesThe body camera moment when the deputy says, "This is just how I do my traffic stops"The denial of the personnel file request and the completely redacted policiesWhy cover-ups do even more damage to community trust than the original incidentWhen officers ignore approved tactics, nobody is safer. When officials protect those officers instead of the public, the damage to community trust spreads much further.

  4. Sep 21

    When Justice Isn't Enough: Louisiana's Fight Over Compensating the Wrongfully Convicted

    Send us Fan Mail Under Louisiana law, people who were wrongfully convicted and served years, even decades, in state prison are entitled to compensation through the Louisiana Innocence Compensation Fund. It's a simple principle: when the state gets it wrong, the state owes something to the people it wronged. But in practice, that compensation has been anything but guaranteed. In this episode, we're joined by investigative journalist Richard Webster of Verite News, a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network, to break down how Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill have fought compensation claims again and again, sometimes even in cases involving DNA evidence or where judges have personally apologized to defendants while overturning their convictions. We dig into how the compensation process actually works, why plea deals often let prosecutors avoid public accountability rather than pursue justice, and reports that Murrill threatened to use the power of her office against an exoneree simply for publicly maintaining his innocence. In this episode: How the Louisiana Innocence Compensation Fund is supposed to workCases involving DNA evidence and judicial apologies where the state still fought compensationWhy plea deals can shield prosecutors and police rather than serve justiceReports of retaliation against an exoneree for speaking publicly about his innocenceWhat accountability looks like when the state won't admit it got it wrongGuest: Richard Webster, Investigative Reporter at Verite News and a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network

  5. Sep 14

    Gendered Police Violence: The Crimes the Media Won't Name

    Send us Fan Mail Police shootings make headlines. Police officers sexually abusing children and adults rarely do. This week we sit down with Rachel LaPointe, a social worker turned independent investigator, who tracks gendered police violence across the country: officers caught paying minors for sex, school resource officers abusing students on duty, and departments that quietly rehire known offenders after six-figure settlements. We dig into why prosecutors almost never hold these officers accountable, and why the media routinely softens coverage, describing abuse of a minor as an officer who "had sex with a student," as if a child can consent. Rachel explains the institutional complicity behind these cases, including a school district police force that hired an officer whose former department had already paid $1.5 million to settle a sexual misconduct claim. A difficult but necessary conversation about power, silence, and what real accountability would require. Follow Rachel's ongoing investigations: TikTok: @rachel_mle Instagram: @rachelmlap Substack: genderedpoliceabuse.substack.com

  6. Sep 7

    Beyond Curfews: DC Councilmember Zachary Parker on Youth Gatherings

    Send us Fan Mail DC Councilmember Zachary Parker (Ward 5) joins us to unpack one of the most misunderstood issues in local politics today: youth gatherings and the media and political rhetoric that surround them. We ask a question many officials avoid: should cities respond with more policing and curfews, or invest in the root causes driving young people to gather in the first place? Councilmember Parker makes the case for the latter. He walks us through his work partnering with DC's Department of Parks and Recreation to build community-based alternatives that have already reached thousands of youth across the District, alongside a real slowdown in large, unplanned gatherings. We also dig into DC's juvenile curfew laws, why the social science says they don't work, and what happened when Parker invited young people themselves to a roundtable to explain, in their own words, why curfews might actually be backfiring. A candid conversation about policy, politics, and what it actually takes to solve a problem instead of just reacting to it.

  7. Aug 31

    The Conviction Integrity Unit Under Eileen O'Neill Burke: A New Direction, Fewer Exonerations?

    Send us Fan Mail This week on the Chicago Justice Podcast, we sit down with Injustice Watch Senior Reporter Dan Hinkel to examine the changing role of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) under State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke. Cook County has recorded more exonerations than any county in the United States, a reflection of decades of police misconduct, coerced confessions, official corruption, and other systemic failures that have led to approximately 440 wrongful convictions being overturned. Yet despite that history, the CIU's approach to reviewing innocence claims appears to be shifting. Hinkel discusses how O'Neill Burke has signaled that convictions should only be overturned when there is definitive evidence proving innocence, such as DNA evidence. Critics argue that standard ignores the reality that DNA evidence is rarely available in the types of cases that typically reach conviction review units and could significantly limit future exonerations. We also explore the philosophy behind Conviction Integrity Units, whether prosecutors can objectively review convictions obtained by their own offices, the role of outside experts in innocence investigations, Kim Foxx's record on exonerations, and O'Neill Burke's history handling wrongful conviction cases. If Cook County's Conviction Integrity Unit is changing course, what does that mean for people seeking to prove their innocence? Listen as Dan Hinkel helps unpack one of the most important criminal justice debates facing Cook County today. Guest: Dan Hinkel, Senior Reporter, Injustice Watch Topics Covered: Cook County's history of wrongful convictions and exonerationsThe Conviction Integrity Unit under Eileen O'Neill BurkeWhether DNA should be required to overturn convictionsConflicts of interest within conviction review unitsKim Foxx's record on exonerationsCertificates of InnocenceThe future of innocence claims in Cook County🎧 Subscribe to the Chicago Justice Podcast for in-depth conversations on criminal justice, policing, courts, government accountability, and public policy.

  8. Aug 24

    Turner’s Outdoorsman, Crime Guns, and What the Data Reveals | Ft The Trace’s Aaron Mendelson

    Send us Fan Mail New reporting from The Trace has shed light on an important question in the gun violence prevention space: Why are firearms sold by certain retailers showing up in criminal investigations at disproportionately high rates? In this week’s episode, we take a deep dive into data connecting California-based firearm retailer Turner’s Outdoorsman to a higher-than-expected number of guns later recovered as crime guns. According to reporting by The Trace, firearms sold by the retailer have consistently appeared in crime gun traces at rates that exceed expectations, raising questions about firearm diversion and gun trafficking patterns. We also examine the concept of “time-to-crime,” a metric developed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that measures the time between a firearm’s initial retail sale and its recovery by law enforcement. A short time-to-crime can be an important indicator for investigators seeking to identify potential straw purchasing schemes and other forms of firearm trafficking. Joining us is Arron Mendelson, Data Journalist at The Trace, who walks us through the reporting, explains how crime gun tracing data is analyzed, and discusses what these findings may reveal about the movement of firearms from legal sales into criminal activity. We also explore the limitations of the data, the broader role of gun retailers in preventing firearm diversion, and what policymakers, researchers, and advocates can learn from these trends. Whether you’re interested in gun violence prevention, firearm trafficking, public safety, criminal justice, or investigative journalism, this conversation provides an in-depth look at how data can help uncover patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. Listen now to learn: What crime gun tracing data can tell us about firearm trafficking Why Turner’s Outdoorsman has drawn attention from researchers and journalists How the ATF’s time-to-crime metric works What short time-to-crime rates may indicate The challenges and limitations of analyzing crime gun data What these findings mean for public safety and gun violence prevention efforts

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Ratings & Reviews

4.3
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The Chicago Justice Podcast challenges the stories we're told about crime, public safety, and justice. Instead of accepting headlines, political talking points, or conventional wisdom at face value, we dig deeper to uncover what the data, research, and lived experiences actually reveal. Each episode features candid conversations with journalists, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and people working to transform the justice system from within. Together, we examine the policies, institutions, and power structures that shape who is criminalized, who is protected, and who is left behind. From policing and police accountability to gun violence, surveillance, incarceration, public records, government transparency, and criminal justice reform, we explore the complex issues driving today's debates about safety and justice. Some conversations are uncomfortable. Others are infuriating. All of them are necessary. Grounded in evidence, accountability, and a commitment to challenging dominant narratives, The Chicago Justice Podcast goes beyond sound bites to expose how systems really work and whose interests they serve. If you're ready to question assumptions, confront hard truths, and explore what real justice and public safety could look like, this podcast is for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Tracy Siska
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    146
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Chicago Justice Podcast
  • Show Website
    Chicago Justice Podcast