Now airing on National Public Television and streaming on PBS Passport
LINCOLN IS CRYING: The Grifters, Grafters & Governors of Illinois is a scathing indictment of politics in the "Land of Lincoln"...and it's funny too. The new documentary from filmmakers John Davies and Brian Kallies presents a funny/sad look at the pervasive, deep-rooted culture of political corruption in Illinois. Why focus on Illinois? Well, it’s the most corrupt state in America and home to Chicago, the most corrupt city in America. LINCOLN IS CRYING is a cautionary tale for all other states and given what’s happening in national politics, it couldn’t be timelier.
The story behind Illinois’ corruption is told by a diverse group of journalists, authors, entertainers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and politicians, including:
• POLITICO reporters NATASHA KORECKI & SHIA KAPOS
• NPR/WBEZ political reporters DAVE MCKINNEY & CLAUDIA MORELL
• Radio & podcast hosts MICHAEL MEDVED, DAN PROFT, BRUCE DUMONT & GARRY MEIER
• Chicago Sun-Times columnists MICHAEL SNEED & MARY MITCHELL
• Chicago Tribune columnists RICK PEARSON & JEFF COEN
• Legendary Chicago television political reporters ANDY SHAW & WALTER JACOBSON
• Democratic National Convention Press Secretary & Veteran Political Consultant DELMARIE COBB
• Public Policy Consultant & Chicago Mayoral candidate AMARA ENYIA
• Chicago-based journalists DAVID BERNSTEIN, JACKIE SERRATO & ADESHINA EMMANUEL
• Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys PATRICK COLLINS & RANDALL SAMBORN
• Blagojevich Defense Attorneys AARON GOLDSTEIN & MIKE ETTINGER
• Blagojevich trial jury foreman JAMES MATSUMOTO & Blagojevich barber PETER VODOVOZ
• The Second City V.P. KELLY LEONARD & alumni DAVID PASQUESI (Veep),
TIM KAZURINSKY (SNL) & MIKE HAGERTY (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
• Authors and political commentators DICK SIMPSON & RICH LINDBERG
• Musical groups THE CHI-TOWN KIDS & THE CHICAGO GAY MEN’S CHORUS
Underwritten exclusively by DAVE TRUITT
JOHN DAVIES - executive producer/ writer/director
John Davies is an Emmy® Award winning writer/producer/director who has created documentaries, series and specials for almost every network and cable outlet including NBC, ABC, FOX, AMC, TRU-TV, BRAVO, ESPN, COMEDY CENTRAL, SHOWTIME, and PBS. He is currently developing CARSON THE MAGNIFICENT, a scripted mini-series about the life of Johnny Carson.
BRIAN KALLIES - executive producer/ editor/DP
Brian Kallies is an Emmy® Award winning independent filmmaker who has produced, directed, and/or edited documentaries for Showtime, HBO Max, Hulu, PBS, Disney+, History, Amazon, Discovery+ and the BBC. His current project is about the big band legend, SAMMY NESTICO - coming in 2024.