That one time when Chicago City Council became 'The Jerry Springer Show'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- By the late 1990s, Jerry Springer's brand of violent TV talk had reached its zenith. He was front-page news in Chicago and his show, which routinely televised wild brawls between guests, sat at the top of the ratings.

Another showman, powerful Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, had seen enough and hauled Springer before a City Council committee hearing in June 1999 to explain himself.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Springer, who died Thursday at age 79, was more than happy to appear and make a mockery of the whole thing.

Media accounts of the spectacle reported that while no chairs were thrown, there were plenty of verbal shots from council members and Springer.

Burke's argument was that if fans got into a fight at a ballgame, Chicago police would arrest them. So, shouldn't the same be true for Springer's guests?

At one point, Burke, who is ending his record-breaking City Council career under legal scrutiny, stood up with a large book and asked Springer that if he threw the book and struck him, wouldn't that be assault?  An audience member apparently seemed delighted at the prospect. 

"Do you want him to do it?" Springer quipped as if the hearing had turned into a taping of "The Jerry Springer Show." (A film crew from the show was there.)

According to an Associated Press account of the hearing, Springer said it would be up to an officer as to what might merit arrest, adding, "When people are roughhousing, most of the time we don't take them to jail."

According to the New York Times, Springer insisted his show portrayed the fighting, slapping, hair pulling, spitting and kicking in a negative light.

''To my death I will tell you that the fighting you see on our show never, ever, ever glamorizes violence,'' Springer said.