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VOICE OF CHICAGO
W
hen John Williams arrived at WGN
in 1997, he was thrilled because he
grew up listening to the station. “I
grew up listening to Wally (Phillips) and
Roy (Leonard) and Kathy (O’Malley) and
Judy (Markey) and Bob (Collins). I thought
Roy was one of the most capable interviewers
I ever heard. Wally was one of the most seamless
broadcasters I ever heard. Bob Collins had
the most natural energy. “
At the time, the station was dedicated to
the proposition of serving the entire city of
Chicago. That often meant leaving politics at
the door and listening to what the other side
had to say. “Was Wally Phillips a Republican?
I was his intern and I have no idea. Bob
Collins was conservative, but he welcomed
By Rick Kaempfer
you. What was Spike (O’Dell)? He was conservative,
but he was positively jolly and
friendly. You need to stay relevant without
alienating half your audience. I think right
now from Bob Sirott on, we’re all reading
from that playbook. That’s not taking it easy.
That’s really hard to do.”
It’s a conscious change of pace from where
WGN has been at times since Williams joined
the station. “The idea used to be to find a
topic, get a lever, and work it, work it, work it.
That’s not the way we’re doing it anymore.
We’re trying very hard to keep it local. You
could talk about the national issues all day,
and they do come up on the show, but I think
the reason we’re resonating now, is that we’re
more concerned about the street closings in
Chicago than what is resonating in
Washington. I’m not looking for enemies or
bad guys. I’m just trying to get you through
the day and to do it competently and with
compassion.
People ask, ‘What happened to WGN,
it’s not what it used to be’, but I think more
now than ever it is. We don’t have table
bangers. We’re not screaming and yelling at
people. We’re listening. We know we cast a
wide net, and there’s a lot of people out there.
We’re not saying one side is right or the other
side is right. I say, here is how I feel. You may
agree or disagree, and that’s OK. The biggest
compliment to me is the people who don’t
agree and still listen. In the past, I tried to convert
everyone and tried to beat them into submission.
I think now more than ever, Chicago
needs a calming and competent voice. And
I’m working toward that every day.”
One of the trademark segments Williams
runs every week is his Friday feature called
‘The Bright Side.’ He forces himself to concentrate
on the positive, to accentuate good news.
“The harder the times are, the more we need
this segment. People say you can’t do it now
because the news is so terrible, and I say, you
MUST do it now BECAUSE the news is so
terrible. We open extra phone lines and they
are always jammed. People call up to share
their good news. They aren’t making it up.
People still want to see the bright side of life.
It’s often fun and lighthearted, but sometimes
it’s serious too. They are relieved the tumor
was benign, or their son came home safely. I’ll
admit there have been times when I didn’t
love the bright side segment, because I recognize
it’s not exactly cutting edge radio, and
yet, I always do it, and I always feel better
after I do. It’s not complicated. I call it the
For the safety of our community and its
people, Impact Fuel Room will be
closed and all shows rescheduled and
postponed for the time being.
We are grateful for many of our
customers who have purchased tickets
to these shows, and we will be reaching
out with updates as we learn more.
John Williams
Check www.impactfuelroom.com for
updates. Thank you for your patience,
stay tuned and stay safe!
16 illinoisentertainer.com july 2020
group hug that works every single time.
Sometimes people will call up from places I
know they can’t listen from. One time we got
a call from a guy who was out ice fishing on
a frozen lake in northern Minnesota. He wasn’t
within earshot, and he didn’t have the
radio on, but he knew we were going to be
doing the segment. He called just to say that
sharing this ice fishing day with his son was
a wonderful experience. It was such a giving
back moment. He just wanted to share his
good news. That’s the essence of the segment.”
Over the years, Williams has done lots of
different timeslots at the station, but after the
recent lineup shuffle earlier this year, he’s now
handling the midday slot from 9am—1pm.
“In some ways, you can say I do three shows
now. The 9-10 am hour is the last hour of
morning drive, and that hour has more service
elements and comic relief. The 10 am -
Noon slot is more of a traditional talk show.
And then the Wintrust Business Lunch at noon
has a different producer, and the subject is
business. So, it’s really like doing three different
shows. It helps me to think of it that
way. Four hours of talk radio is daunting.
When I break it down like that, it’s much easier
for me to handle it.”
And he feels like he is contributing to a
truly worthwhile cause these days. “I think
that what we’re doing now is more meaningful
than anything we’ve done before. We were
here on 9-11. We were here when Bob Collins
died. We were here during the financial collapse
of 2008. And now I feel we’re here with
our listeners again at a very critical juncture of
their lives. It feels more challenging but also
more rewarding than anything we’ve ever
done.”