Sheila Kennedy has done just about everything there is to do in Indianapolis civic life, from practicing real estate and business law, to running to represent the city in Congress in the early 1980s, to working extensively in city government, and now in her current position as professor emeritus of law and public policy at IUPUI’s O’Neill School. This week, she joins the podcast to talk about the unique structure that’s governed that civic life for roughly as long as she’s been a part of it: Unigov, the consolidated city-county government that’s run Indianapolis and Marion County since 1970, impacting everything from education and segregation, to local politics, to the COVID recovery. She also talks about the striking rise in polarization over the course of her career in politics, and how it's reflected in the ongoing struggle between the city and Indiana's General Assembly.
