Two Elgin political figures launch podcast
Two Elgin men who work in politics and have been friends for more than a decade have started a podcast about politics, civics and government, and how to get involved.
Elgin Township Supervisor Franklin Ramirez, and Rich Jacobs, chief of staff for state Sen. Christina Castro, launched in June their "Frankly Speaking: Rich Conversations Around Politics" podcast. Episodes are released twice a month.
The men, both Democrats, said their podcast is not about their political views and involves no discussion of current events or political figures. Instead, it is intended to be educational about topics such as how to run for office, leadership qualities, what representational democracy means, where to find voter resources, and much more, they said.
Ramirez said he and Jacobs have always enjoyed discussing politics and government, often with a good laugh, and figured their dynamics might translate well into a podcast. "We have fun," he said.
"We have always had these kinds of conversations with people all the time, so we were both like, 'We should host something. Let's do a podcast,'" Jacobs said.
Jacobs credited Ramirez with learning how to record, edit and upload the podcast online. "It's not polished," Ramirez said.
Their educational backgrounds also inform their discussions, said Ramirez, who has a master's degree in organizational leadership. Jacobs has a master's degree in nonprofit management.
The podcast also features guests, such as a library staff member from Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin for a discussion about library resources, and an election law attorney for a discussion about how political candidates might need an attorney.
Crystal Lake City Clerk Nick Kachiroubas, who also works as associate teaching professor in the School of Public Service at DePaul University in Chicago, was scheduled to be a guest for an upcoming podcast.
The two men sometimes record their podcast in Jacobs' basement, but most often in the digital media lab of Gail Borden Public Library.
They hope to have call-in guests and record episodes in guests' offices in the future. For more information, or to submit ideas for the podcast, you can visit facebook.com/fsrcap.