Jack Lessenberry from Michigan Radio

Detroit may have an economic crisis, but yesterday, sports and pizza magnate Mike Ilitch proposed a new downtown sports arena. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry has been thinking about what that means for the city.

Nobody disputes that mainstream media is in trouble in Michigan and the entire country. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry wonders if we might not have been better informed back in the “bad” old days.

America may have reelected a black president — but Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry says that last night a best-selling author told Detroiters that this nation still has a racial caste system as powerful as the old Jim Crow.

Yesterday, Republicans in the state house of representatives refused to set up a state-run health exchange, leaving that to the federal government. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry is wondering what they were thinking.

The state senate passed a bill this week creating a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry says what happens next is crucial.

There are a wide variety of views on what to do about the fiscal cliff. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry talked to a veteran who has a unique perspective.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing didn’t show up at a special meeting of City Council yesterday. It was a meeting he called in an attempt to prevent the city from running out of cash. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry thinks there is an air of unreality in Detroit.

The legislature begins its lame duck session this week. Though there’s lots of focus on right to work and Blue Cross, Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry thinks they ought to be thinking about Detroit

It’s Thanksgiving day, and Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry has some thoughts about things we should be thankful for.

The Michigan Supreme Court was touched by scandal yesterday with the news that a U.S. district attorney is charging Justice Diane Hathaway with real estate fraud. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry has an idea for a solution.

Though it won’t be taken up till next year, an education reform group supported by Governor Snyder has a project to radically change public school funding in Michigan. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry says there is a lot of concern.

There were many tributes over the weekend to Sonny Eliot, the legendary weather forecaster. Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry explores Eliot's legacy.

Helen Milliken, a pioneering force for feminism and the arts during the fourteen years her husband was governor of Michigan, died early this morning. Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry remembers her.

Years ago, I put together a  series of panel discussions on the American dream. The people involved differed  a good deal as to what the dream really meant, but they agreed on some  things. Everybody thought part of it meant that America was a place  where if you worked hard, you could get ahead. And that America was a place  where a decent life was available for all. Tragically, that’s not as  true as it used to be.

Last week voters turned thumbs down on a proposed constitutional amendment putting collective bargaining rights in the state constitution, and now some legislators want to make Michigan a so-called right to work state. Michigan Radio’s political analyst Jack Lessenberry wonders what will happen with the proposal now.