Bring It On! – August 30, 2021: Former Mayor of Gary, IN, Karen Freeman-Wilson

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This program was originally aired on December 14, 2020.

Hosts Clarence Boone and William Hosea spend the hour with Karen Freeman-Wilson, the two-term mayor of Gary, IN from 2012 to 2019 and the Attorney General of Indiana from 2000 to 2001. Fr. Mayor Freeman-Wilson was born and raised in Gary. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Freeman-Wilson has had a long and distinguished career of public service in Indiana. She served as a judge in the Gary City Court from 1995 to 2000 and it was there that she founded the first drug treatment court in the State of Indiana.  In 2000 she was appointed Indiana’s Attorney General by Governor Frank O’Bannon to serve the remaining eleven months of the term of Jeff Modisett.

After failing to win re-election in 2001, Freeman-Wilson went back to her work of creating greater access to drug rehabilitation services and more effective treatments. In 2001 she became the CEO of the nonprofit National Association of Drug Court Professional. In 2007, she also became a member of the board of directors for Hythian, Inc., the manufacturer of Prometa, a treatment for methamphetamine addiction, which she helped to have used in the Gary drug court on a trial basis.

Before becoming the first female mayor of Gary, Indiana, she also was the Executive Director of the National Drug Court Institute and the Director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. After losing her bid for a third term as the Mayor of Gary, IN, she became the CEO of the Chicago Urban League in 2019.

CREDITS: The hosts of today’s show are Clarence Boone and William Hosea, with additional hosting help from Vernon Williams.
The Executive Producer is Clarence Boone with help from WFHB News Department Director Kade Young.
The original theme music was created by Jamyl Efiom, with additional background tracks by David Baker.
The promotional graphic is provided by William Hosea.
Online writing help is provided by Chantalle LaFontant.