Amy Pais-Richer, published author and investigative writer, said the initial meeting with City Manager Jason Wicha revealed that firefighter staffing problems had been building for years, and after asking tougher questions, she encountered pushback and few concrete solutions despite detailed discussion.
“That meeting in the beginning, I thought, was a very good one," said Pais-Richer on the Lake Forest podcast. “Jason [City Manager Jason Wicha] was very transparent, I thought at the time, and really concurred that this was an ongoing issue and problem. As a matter of fact, in the meeting, he described it as the perfect storm, which then kind of led me to question, well, how long has this perfect storm been brewing? And then he acknowledged the storm has been going on for years and years and years.”
“Being a writer, journalist, that type of thing, I started asking a little harder-hitting questions," said Pais-Richer. “There was a lot of pushback, and I felt that there were not a lot of concrete ways that I was seeing this problem could be solved. And we definitely sat and we discussed all of this together.”
This full episode is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
This episode of the Lake Forest Podcast features host Pete Jansons with guests Amy Pais-Richer, advertising exec with Super Bowl ads, published author, and investigative writer, former Illinois State Senator Susan Garrett, and co-host Jeff Urso Jeff Urso as they discuss concerns about firefighter staffing in Lake Forest, including rising overtime hours, reduced shift coverage, increased emergency call volume, and significant personnel losses over the past year. The conversation reviews data on mutual-aid imbalances, safety standard gaps, and recent capital spending without added hiring, and notes upcoming dates tied to the release of a staffing report and an upcoming city council meeting.
The Lake Forest podcast is hosted by Pete Jansons, an entrepreneur with a background in neuroscience; Rick Lesser, an attorney and former village trustee; and Joe Weiss, who has experience in multiple government and public service positions. The podcast covers topics and politics impacting the area around the city of Lake Forest, according to the Lake Forest podcast website.
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