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64-547: After his electoral career ended, he resumed his law practice at The Vrdolyak Law Group. It consists of 20 attorneys. Vrdolyak's three sons are partners in the firm. Vrdolyak, born to Croatian immigrant parents, entered a Catholic seminary at age 13, but decided against joining the priesthood. He graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, then from St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana . He received his J.D. degree from

128-501: A $ 50,000 fine and 2,500 hours of community service . On January 29, 2010, a federal appeals court overturned the probation sentence on appeal by the prosecution and ordered a resentencing by a different judge. On October 15, 2010 Vrdolyak was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Vrdolyak served his sentence at the federal prison camp in Terre Haute, Indiana . He was released from prison on November 17, 2011. On November 15, 2016, Vrdolyak

192-498: A 50 percent interest in WLS and combined the stations under the WLS call sign. In November 1959, ABC announced its purchase of Prairie Farmer and its half of WLS, giving ABC full ownership of the station. On May 2, 1960, at 6 am, WLS went with a full-time Top 40 format. Mort Crowley was the first disc jockey under the new format, and the first song played was " Alley-Oop " by The Hollywood Argyles , four weeks before it debuted on

256-444: A DJ, four months after he had started at the station's top competitor WCFL. Lujack returned to WCFL in 1972, but rejoined WLS in 1976, remaining with the station until 1987. In 1968, a mid-twenty-something Chuck Buell was recruited as the youngest on-air radio personality for a major market contemporary hit music station to date to host the early evening 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. show. An equally young Kris Eric Stevens soon followed

320-469: A creative and ratings pinnacle headlined by personalities Dick Biondi , Larry Lujack , John Records Landecker and Bob Sirott . Since 1989, WLS has been a full-time talk radio outlet. In the 1920s, Sears, Roebuck and Company was a major retail and mail order company. To get farmers and people in rural communities to buy radio sets from its catalogs, Sears initially bought time on radio stations. It later decided to establish its own station. Just before

384-510: A few months later to follow for the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. show. In 1972, John Records Landecker joined WLS, remaining with the station until 1981. Landecker returned to WLS in 1986, and remained with the station until its format was changed in 1989. Tommy Edwards joined the station as production director in 1972, becoming program director one year later, and later becoming a mid-day DJ. Bob Sirott joined WLS in June 1973, remaining with

448-606: A pioneering program in which the school district provided elementary school students with distance education amid a polio outbreak-related school closure. Starting in the 1930s, WLS was an affiliate of the Blue Network of the National Broadcasting Company ( NBC ), and as such aired the popular Fibber McGee and Molly and Lum and Abner comedy programs (both produced at the studios of Chicago's NBC-owned stations, WENR and WMAQ) during their early years. When

512-526: A position he held until 1988. In 1971, he was elected alderman, and, after defeating Republican Melvin Simonovich, he served as President of the City Council from 1977 to 1983. Vrdolyak earned the nickname "Fast Eddie" because of his skill in back-room deal-making. In 1979, he managed the re-election campaign of Mayor Michael Bilandic . In a colossal upset, Bilandic narrowly lost to maverick Jane Byrne . Despite

576-506: A record by The Beatles (" Please Please Me ") was on Dick Biondi's show on February 8, 1963. WLS was voted by broadcasters nationally as "Radio Station of the Year" in 1967, 1968 and 1969. John Rook was named "Program Director of the Year" in 1968 and 1969 as WLS was estimated attracting 4.2 million listeners weekly by Pulse research. WLS also produced the weekly Silver Dollar Survey from October 14, 1960, to December 22, 1967, broken by

640-524: A scheme to use Levine's position on the school's board to steer the $ 15 million sale of a school building to Smithfield Properties - a developer with ties to Vrdolyak. It was alleged that the two arranged a $ 1.5 million kickback from Smithfield to Vrdolyak in return for Levine's support. Levine, a close friend and political ally of Vrdolyak, was indicted in 2005 for using his positions on the Illinois Teachers Retirement System board and

704-464: A third Blue Network/ABC affiliate in Chicago, WCFL . Blue/ABC network broadcasts of addresses by labor leaders were also shifted away from WLS and WENR to WCFL, which was owned at the time by the Chicago Federation of Labor . In 1931, the station's power was increased from 5,000 watts to 50,000 watts, and the station began sharing the transmitter of WENR near Downers Grove, Illinois . In 1938,

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768-604: Is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois . Owned by Cumulus Media , through licensee Radio License Holdings LLC, the station airs a talk radio format . WLS studios are in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood. The station's programming is also available in the Chicago metropolitan area via a simulcast on the HD2 digital subchannel of sister station WLS-FM . Its transmitter site

832-496: Is a Cumulus subsidiary.) This lasted until August 30, 2020, when Westwood One shuttered its news service, and as of August 31, 2020, the station is once again affiliated with ABC News Radio. In January 2017, WLS and WLS-FM moved from its 190 N. State Street studios to its new studios in NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in Streeterville . In addition, the station became the new affiliate of NBC News Radio . On January 2, 2017,

896-451: Is in morning drive time . And Brett Gogoel hosts an hour on the markets and an hour on local news topics in late afternoons. The rest of the weekday schedule is nationally syndicated conservative talk shows from co-owned Westwood One : The Chris Plante Show , The Dan Bongino Show , The Ben Shapiro Show , The Mark Levin Show , The Michael Knowles Show , Red Eye Radio and America in

960-849: Is located on the southwestern edge of Tinley Park, Illinois in Will County. WLS is a Class A station broadcasting on the clear-channel frequency of 890 kHz with 50,000 watts, using a non-directional antenna fed by a Nautel NX-50 transmitter , with a Harris DX-50 serving as a backup transmitter. Both transmitters run in MDCL (Modulation Dependent Carrier Level) mode to improve efficiency. The station's daytime groundwave service contour covers portions of five states. At night, its signal routinely reaches 38 states via skywave . WLS participates as an Emergency Alert System primary entry point, serving northern Illinois and western Indiana . Weekdays on WLS, two local talk show hosts are heard: Steve Cochran

1024-728: The Prairie Farmer magazine in 1928. The station moved to the Prairie Farmer Building on West Washington in Chicago, where it remained for 32 years. For a few months after ABC's 1960 purchase of it and the format change, the "bright new sound" that began in May 1960 was broadcast from the Prairie Farmer Building. WLS didn't make the move to downtown Michigan Avenue's Stone Container Building , located at 360 North Michigan Avenue, until October of that year. Thirty years later, it would move once more, to 190 North State in downtown Chicago. It

1088-533: The Circuit Court of Cook County . He received 41% of the vote; Democrat Aurelia Pucinski (daughter of Alderman and former US Representative Roman Pucinski ) won with 59%. In 1989, Vrdolyak again ran for mayor, in a special election for the last half of Washington's term; he won the Republican primary as a write-in candidate. The general election was won by Democrat Richard M. Daley . Vrdolyak managed less than 4% of

1152-646: The Federal Communications Commission forced NBC to sell the Blue Network, WLS maintained its affiliation with the network under its new identity, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Under this affiliation, some programs from the network that were not commercially sponsored or which were scheduled to cross the time that WLS and WENR shifted its use of the same frequency (such as baseball or football games) were transferred to air on

1216-666: The Harmony Team in the late 1920s. The popular contralto singer also played "Aunt May" on the Children's Hour show. The station shared time on the frequency with WCBD until the November 11, 1928 implementation of the Federal Radio Commission 's General Order 40 , at which point WLS began sharing time as a "clear channel" station with WENR . Sears opened the station in 1924 as a service to farmers and subsequently sold it to

1280-542: The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant . Mount Carmel High School (Chicago) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 392058498 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:47:36 GMT WLS (AM) WLS (890 kHz )

1344-513: The University of Chicago Law School in 1963 and began a legal career in private practice, specializing in personal injury cases. Vrdolyak's brother, Victor Vrdolyak (1933-1992), would also serve as a Chicago alderman (being elected in 1987 to succeed Edward on the city council). In 1968, he was elected as Democratic Committeeman from Chicago's 10th Ward in the Hegewisch and South Deering areas;

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1408-557: The call sign an abbreviation for Sears' "World's Largest Store" slogan—WLS spent its early years as the radio outlet of the Prairie Farmer magazine. From 1928 until 1954, WLS shared their assigned frequency and overall broadcast operations with Blue Network -owned WENR until the Blue Network's successor, the American Broadcasting Company , merged WENR into WLS and eventually purchased it outright. The station's contemporary hit radio era from 1960 until 1989 saw WLS at

1472-515: The 1980s, Les Grobstein was hired as the first and only full-time Sports Director of WLS and broke the story of Cubs manager Lee Elia 's famous tirade on April 29, 1983, after a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers , which included 54 profanities. In June 1989, WLS announced it was going all-talk by the end of the summer. Rumors were that the change was to happen September 1. Air personalities were becoming more talk-intensive anyway and midday talk

1536-399: The 1980s, WLS continued as a mainstream Top 40 formatted station. However, beginning in 1985, the station would begin to undergo major changes. In January 1985, the station began airing Sex Talk on Sunday nights, hosted by Phyllis Levy, a sex therapist. By 1987, WLS was airing adult contemporary music, liberally laced with oldies and standards , with talk programming at night. During

1600-498: The 2008 trial of Tony Rezko , another powerbroker in Illinois politics. He told the jury that he funneled payoffs for clients who wanted Chicago city contracts through Vrdolyak, including some alleged schemes for which Vrdolyak has not been charged. Monico called Levine's statements in regards to Vrdolyak "absolutely false" and said that he had never heard them before. The trial was set for November 3, 2008. That day, however, an agreement

1664-491: The 2016-17 NBA season. Due to Cumulus's January 2018 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the carriage rights were terminated in the filing. The Bulls moved to WSCR , taking effect immediately at the start of February, while the White Sox shifted to WGN several weeks later. In the 2015–16 season, WLS carried Notre Dame Fighting Irish college football and basketball games. In 2016, Notre Dame moved to WMVP . In 2023, WLS became

1728-478: The Democratic Primary, Washington won the general election by 47,549 votes. A solid majority of 29 aldermen (27 Regular Democrats and two independents) opposed Washington (21 aldermen supported the mayor). Vrdolyak and 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke led the opposition group. The Vrdolyak 29 rejected mayoral appointments and appropriations, but could not override the mayor's veto. The resulting political deadlock

1792-574: The Hot 100. The station's jingles were sung by the Anita Kerr Singers . Ralph Beaudin was the station's president and general manager, and oversaw the station's transformation into a Top 40 station. Sam Holman was the station's program director and an afternoon DJ. Beaudin and Holman were both brought in from KQV in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. Ed Grennan, an announcer on the station since 1959,

1856-468: The Illinois Health Facilities board to obtain kickbacks. Levine pleaded guilty in late 2006 and agreed to testify in several corruption cases as a condition of his plea agreement. Prosecutors dropped 22 felony charges in return for his cooperation. Prosecutors have indicated that Levine wore a recording device while discussing some of the alleged schemes. Political insiders expressed surprise at

1920-463: The Morning . Weekends feature shows on money, health, real estate, technology, travel and cars. Syndicated weekend programs include The Kim Komando Show and The Larry Kudlow Show , as well as repeats of weekday shows. Some weekend hours are paid brokered programming . Most hours on nights and weekends begin with an update from ABC News Radio . Founded in 1924 by Sears, Roebuck and Company —with

1984-591: The Musicradio era. The broadcasts re-aired on Independence Day 2007, and there was a new Rewind in 2008. ABC-owned radio stations which were not affiliated with ESPN Radio or Radio Disney , including WLS, were sold to Citadel Broadcasting on June 12, 2007, with Citadel licensing the name ABC Radio for 2 years after the sale. Citadel was acquired by Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. Cumulus Media terminated its affiliation with overnight radio program Coast to Coast AM on many of its stations, including WLS. In

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2048-540: The Silver Beatle Survey on February 21, 1964, and the Super Summer Survey from May 5, 1967, to August 25, 1967. The survey nominally contained 40 current song listings, except for occasional weeks when it contained fewer current listings, usually 20, plus a special listing of some of the greatest oldies. From September 18, 1964, through December 25, 1964, the survey consisted of the top 30 pop hits, followed by

2112-419: The bench were recommended by Vrdolyak. This would cause problems for Vrdolyak as he was implicated in the case of former Cook County Circuit Court Judge George J.W. Smith, who pled guilty to federal charges of illegally structuring cash withdrawals to avoid tax penalties. Prosecutors claimed the transactions were in furtherance of an alleged bribe paid to a "go-between" in order to secure Smith's appointment. Smith

2176-492: The country adding the song and making the track Styx' first national Top 40 hit. During the 1970s WLS ran a Sunday night music interview program called "Musicpeople". In 1984, Steve Dahl and Garry Meier 's program was moved to WLS from WLS-FM, over the objections of the duo, who attempted to have their contract declared invalid. Nevertheless, Dahl and Meier drew higher ratings on WLS than they had on WLS-FM. Dahl and Meier left WLS in 1986, returning to WLUP. Well into

2240-564: The eyewitness report of the Hindenburg disaster by Herbert Morrison . Morrison and engineer Charles Nehlsen had been sent to New Jersey by WLS to cover the arrival of the Hindenburg for delayed broadcast. Their recordings aired the next day on May 7, 1937, the first time that recordings of a news event were ever broadcast. In the fall of 1937, the station was one of several Chicago radio stations to donate airtime to Chicago Public Schools for

2304-637: The fact that Byrne then stripped Vrdolyak of all powers except his aldermanic seat, he became Byrne's chief ally against both independent and Regular Democrats, becoming her floor leader in the Council. In 1982, with Byrne's support, he was elected Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Committee, ousting County Board President George Dunne . He is most noted for leading the opposition in the City Council to Mayor Harold Washington from 1983 to 1987. After beating Mayor Byrne and Richard M. Daley in

2368-523: The first round, but a third, Alderman Brady, lost six weeks later in a run-off; the council was split 25-25, creating a tie which the mayor could break. At this point, several of the Vrdolyak 29 began to support Washington, giving him a supportive council. In 1987, Vrdolyak resigned as county Democratic chairman, and ran for mayor as the Solidarity Party nominee, defeating a candidate backed by Washington in

2432-675: The idea that Vrdolyak would be caught on tape. A long-time power broker and target of investigations, the notoriously careful Vrdolyak has been quoted as saying that he "talk[s] to everyone like they're wearing a wire, even my wife". Chicago alderman Bernard Stone noted that Vrdolyak was always careful when talking on the phone, once telling Stone to "always talk like the government was on the phone with you". Vrdolyak initially pleaded not guilty to all charges. Vrdolyak's attorney, Michael Monico, questioned Levine's "credibility, reliability and truthfulness", noting that he agreed to testify under "immense pressure" from prosecutors. Levine also testified at

2496-546: The last song was " Just You 'n' Me " by Chicago . WLS then became a talk station, with Sally Jesse Raphael as its first host. In the beginning of the talk format, WLS featured high-rated talk talents from around the country, such as Bob Lassiter from Tampa Bay , Stacy Taylor from San Diego and the station's biggest hit, Rush Limbaugh out of New York. After a few years, however, Lassiter, Taylor and some of their other national hosts were dropped in favor of more local hosts. Jay Marvin also had several stints on WLS, where he

2560-475: The mid-1970s, WLS became conservative about introducing new songs, and many record promoters referred to the station as the "World's Last Station" to add new releases for airplay, usually only after the songs had reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 . However, in 1974, the station started playing the track " Lady " by the Chicago band Styx from an older album of theirs, resulting in other stations around

2624-578: The musicians themselves or sometimes by the WLS audio engineers. An example of these included Reunion 's 1974 song " Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me) ". Reunion changed the song's lyrics from "Life is a rock but the radio rolled me" to "Life is a rock/WLS rolled me". A similar version was made for competitor WCFL . Another "WLS-only" version was a combination of Captain and Tennille 's " Love Will Keep Us Together " and "Por Amor Viviremos", which featured alternating English and Spanish vocals. By

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2688-477: The permanent station was ready, Sears began broadcasts on March 21, 1924, as WBBX with noon programs using the WMAQ studios. Sears broadcast test transmissions from its own studios on April 9, 10 and 11, 1924, using the call sign WES (for "World's Economy Store"). Sears originally operated its station at the company's corporate headquarters on Chicago's West Side, which is also where the company's mail order business

2752-522: The primary. He was defeated by Washington, who got 53% of the vote to Vrdolyak's 42%. Washington's second term began more smoothly, but he unexpectedly died in November 1987 and Vrdolyak's political clout waned. In light of these factors, as well as his growing unpopularity among Democrats, Vrdolyak joined the Republican Party in September 1987. In 1988 , Vrdolyak was the Republican nominee for Clerk of

2816-540: The spring of 2012, it began airing its own Red Eye Radio . Longtime morning show hosts Don and Roma Wade retired in December 2012. They had been off the air since October due to Don Wade's cancer treatments. On September 6, 2013, Don Wade died of a brain tumor. Cumulus radio stations made a break with ABC at the end of 2014, when they no longer carried ABC News Radio . WLS and most Cumulus news/talk stations began running Westwood One News on January 1, 2015. (Westwood One

2880-504: The station added the on-air team of Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano from WGN (AM) ; the former marking his return to WLS for the first time since 1980. However, Sirott and Murciano were cut from the station's lineup, beginning January 1, 2018. On June 23, 2015, WLS announced that the station had picked up broadcasting rights for Chicago White Sox baseball starting with the 2016 season. In addition, WLS had also picked up broadcasting rights for Chicago Bulls basketball, beginning with

2944-607: The station as a DJ, having previously worked at WKBW in Buffalo, New York . Clark Weber joined the station as a DJ, remaining with the station until 1969. In 1963, Ron "Ringo" Riley joined the station as a DJ, having previously worked at WHK in Cleveland , Ohio. Dex Card joined the station in 1964, and hosted the Silver Dollar Survey countdown until 1967, the longest of the show's hosts. In 1967, Larry Lujack joined WLS as

3008-484: The station until December 1979. Other DJs on WLS during its top 40 era included Joel Sebastian, Gary Gears, J. J. Jefferies, Jerry Kay, Yvonne Daniels, Brant Miller , Tom Kent , Steve King , Jeff Davis, and Fred Winston. Some of the production directors responsible for the sound of WLS were Ray Van Steen, Hal Widsten, Jim Hampton, Bill Price and Tommy Edwards. In the 1960s, WLS was a major force in introducing new music and recording artists. The first US airplay of

3072-490: The station's transmitter was moved to Tinley Park, Illinois. Changes were made regarding AM frequencies in 1941 as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA); this moved WENR and WLS from 870 to 890 kHz. WENR and WLS shared their common frequency on a time-sharing arrangement until 1954, when ABC (then known as American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres) bought

3136-614: The top 10 R&B hits. Thereafter, the survey changed its name numerous times (89 WLS Hit Parade, 89 WLS Chicagoland Hit Parade, WLS Musicradio 89, etc.). Starting with the July 20, 1970, survey, the number of listings dropped from 40 to 30, then varying from 25 to 40 starting June 26, 1972, then dropping to 15 by March 9, 1974, then increasing to a high of 45 by the end of 1975. No "take home" surveys were printed from March 13, 1972, through July 16, 1973 (these were limited to one poster-size weekly survey displayed at record shops). The year-end listing

3200-530: The town during the administrations of Loren-Maltese and her successor, Ramiro González. Maltese was convicted of corruption in 2002 and González was defeated in the 2005 election. While Vrdolyak was not charged in the Loren-Maltese investigation, his close alliance with the once-imprisoned former Town President was a major issue in the 2005 election. During the campaign, Dominick criticized what he called Vrdolyak's excessive legal bills, and removed Vrdolyak's firm as

3264-418: The town's legal counsel after taking office. However, NBC Chicago reported that the new town attorney, Michael Del Galdo, billed the town over $ 2 million in 2006—more than twice the average billings when Vrdolyak's firm held the contract. In 2005, Vrdolyak agreed to a 30-day suspension of his law license for allegedly double-billing clients he represented in sexual harassment cases. On May 10, 2007, Vrdolyak

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3328-543: The vote, effectively ending his political career. After his final electoral defeat, Vrdolyak returned to his law practice. He hosted a popular talk radio show from 1993 to 1996, first on WLS radio (890 AM) and then on WJJD Radio (1160 AM). He also maintained a strong behind-the-scenes presence in Chicago area politics. He became best known for his influence in the appointment and election of Cook County Circuit Court judges. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman confirmed that at least two judges he appointed to

3392-408: Was added as well. But quietly, with no warning, on August 23, 1989, at 7 pm, WLS stopped playing music altogether. Phil Duncan was the last DJ to play music on WLS, and as Duncan finished up his show, a voice in the back of the studio (that of then-WYTZ DJ Steven Craig) was heard saying "Goodnight!" (Craig unknowingly (and unofficially) became the last live voice on Musicradio WLS.) Appropriately,

3456-578: Was described as an "eleventh hour decision", ABC canceled the planned format change due to convincing from local management. Throughout the 1990s, ratings began to grow, with the station occasionally ranked in the Top 10. On Memorial Day, 2007, WLS took a cue from sister station WABC and ran a special day of musical programming, "The Big 89 Rewind", featuring live visits from Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards, Fred Winston, Chris Shebel, Jeff Davis, John Records Landecker, Tom Kent, and other DJs, sounders, and airchecks from

3520-487: Was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors later added additional wire fraud charges, and the final indictment included a total of eight counts. The case centered on property that was sold by the Chicago Medical School . The key witness against Vrdolyak was to be Stuart Levine, a partner in the alleged scheme. Prosecutors charged that Vrdolyak and Levine devised

3584-407: Was indicted for income tax evasion. He pled guilty on March 4, 2019. Vrdolyak was sentenced to eighteen months in prison for the scheme. Judge Robert Michael Dow Jr. ordered Vrdolyak to report to FMC Rochester by November 30, 2021 to complete his eighteen month sentence. In January 2022, his attorneys filed an emergency petition requesting his release for time served due to the health risks posed by

3648-420: Was labeled " Council Wars ". In 1986, a federal lawsuit forced the redrawing of some aldermanic wards, and special elections in some, but not all, of the redrawn wards. Members of the Vrdolyak 29 were incumbents in all seven of the wards going to the polls. Four of them did not seek reelection, including three who sought seats on the county board. Two of the three attempting to retain their seats were reelected in

3712-468: Was located. On April 12, 1924, the station commenced officially, using the call letters WLS (for "World's Largest Store"), and broadcasting from its new studios in the Sherman House Hotel in downtown Chicago. The station's transmitter was originally located outside Crete, Illinois . On April 19, the station aired its first National Barn Dance . Harriet Lee was a WLS staff singer as part of

3776-618: Was one of the few liberal voices on its political talk shows, which had mostly conservative viewpoints. The station served as the "flagship" broadcast outlet for the Sunday night, national political talk show, Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont . By 1992, WLS had such low ratings that ABC's national management was planning on flipping the station to a satellite-fed country format (management went so far as to distribute an all-staff memo and hosts being told they were about to be let go). However, in what

3840-434: Was reached in which prosecutors dropped several of the charges and Vrdolyak pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The plea agreement stated that Vrdolyak was not cooperating with other investigations, and prosecutors recommended a sentence of 41 months in prison. However, on February 26, 2009, United States District Judge Milton I. Shadur sentenced Vrdolyak to five years of probation ,

3904-459: Was reportedly appointed by Freeman based on Vrdolyak's recommendation, leading to speculation that Vrdolyak was the alleged "go-between". The investigation did not result in charges of wrongdoing against Vrdolyak, nor in bribery charges against Smith or any other party. Vrdolyak was also a key adviser to Betty Loren-Maltese , former Town President of the Chicago suburb of Cicero . The Vrdolyak Law Group received millions of dollars in legal work from

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3968-805: Was retained as a DJ under the new format. Star disc jockey Dick Biondi , a 1998 inductee into the National Radio Hall of Fame , was brought in from WEBR in Buffalo, New York . Biondi remained on the station until 1963. Other DJs who were brought in for the station's new format included Bob Hale from WIRL in Peoria, Illinois , Gene Taylor from WOKY in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , Mort Crowley from WADO in New York City, and Jim Dunbar from WDSU in New Orleans , Louisiana. In October 1960, Art Roberts joined

4032-405: Was the 20 greatest hits of the year for each year from 1963 through 1966, increased to 89 from 1967 onward. Like many AM radio stations of the seventies, WLS edited many of the songs they played into a more "radio-friendly" or "radio edit" (a term still used today) format, usually 3–4 minutes in length. Other special editions of some Top 40 songs exclusively made for their broadcasting were done by

4096-517: Was the scene of the National Barn Dance , which featured Gene Autry , Pat Buttram , and George Gobel , and which was second only to the Grand Ole Opry (itself a local National Barn Dance spinoff) in presenting country music and humor. The station also experimented successfully in many forms of news broadcasting, including weather and crop reports. Its most famous news broadcast was

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