Captain Ivan Rittenberg
Fox’s Pizza in Orland Park & Mokena, Guinness, Madden Funds and Flood Brothers Disposal present the Hibernian Radio Hour at our newest recording location at ‘The Bunker’ and this week we welcome honorary Irishman, Captain Ivan Rittenberg. Ivan grew up in St. Sabina’s parish, attended South Shore High School and worked for CPD from 1964 – ’95, working his way from Detective to Captain and Assistant Deputy Superintendent. It’s safe to say he has had an impressive career, becoming a cop at just 20 years old and he was even made a Reserve Commissioned Officer in the US Army in ’68 He has been a private attorney since ’72 representing “the blue-collar hard-working people!” Ivan dives right into the valuable lessons he learned from his father as well as sharing the differences growing up in an Irish neighborhood versus a Jewish one. Ivan’s older brother, Ron, served in the Marine Corps and later moved to Israel where he joined the Israel Defense Forces. The 1968 DNC, Ivan’s dealings with the Press and his disappointment in how Chicago’s minorities are treated are some of the other interesting topics discussed this week. Ivan was the 40th Ward Alderman for 4 years and shares some of his best memories from that time, particularly the important pieces of legislation he helped pass. These two end a great interview with a brief discussion on the current Israel-Hamas war and Ivan shares one final message with our listeners – “I salute the Irish people!” Houli brings us up to date on some upcoming events including our own Annual Hooligan Ball on December 16th at Barney Callaghan’s with music from Liam Durkin – see you all there! The Emerald Society are having their Turkey Dinner Night on November 16th at the FOP Lodge, with music from the Larkin & Moran Brothers and The Pipes & Drums of The Emerald Society. Then it’s over to the obituaries followed by a quick goodbye from Houli to end another great show – Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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