WLS Chicago morning host Don Wade has retired

[alp227]

Don Wade, who co-hosted the morning show with his wife Roma on 50 kW Chicago talk station WLS 890 since 1985, retired at the end of 2012 due to brain cancer. Since September, 9am-11am hosts Bruce Wolf & Dan Proft (whose show is right before Rush the Pigman) filled in for Don & Roma as the 71-year-old Don Wade began undergoing treatment; those hosts now regularly have the morning show.

WLS's official biography (http://www.wlsam.com/common/page.php?pt=About+Don+Wade+%26+Roma&id=561&is_corp=0) of Don & Roma describe the duo as "invariably passionate, witty, usually conservative or libertarian, and always opinionated about the political and social issues of the day." Describing the show, WLS states: "DON’s rapier dissections generally focus on politics, celebrities, and the media as targets. ROMA is considered “The Voice of Reason” providing a thoughtful balance that often drives DON mad."

Despite their rightward leanings that obviously stand in contrast to Chicago's political establishment, the hosts have interviewed various Chicago area politicians from both parties and at all levels of government, including US Rep. and member of the Progressive Caucus Jan Schakowsky and former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel as US Representative and mayor of Chicago. In other times, Don often went off angrily at Chicago politicians. I happened upon his "One Angry Chicagoan" rant from June 2011 when I sampled his show on the TuneIn app where he was basically ripping this alderman for his large security detail. Don also is a vocal critic of the Obama administration and made this "Obamathon 2011" segment in August 2011 as the job market was struggling.

Although Don & Roma frequently interviewed Chicago-area Democrats, I can't find any record of Barack Obama being interviewed by Don & Roma either as Illinois State Senator, US Senator, candidate, or president. Shortly before the '08 election AND around the time when Obama's grandmother was ailing near death, Don attracted controversy by suggesting that the media would downplay Obama suffocating his grandmother.

It's OK to criticize his ideas while respecting DW as a father and husband when he's suffering from cancer in late age. So please share memories of the show if you ever bothered to listen.

(Fun fact: Liberal host/Air America alumnus Mike Malloy hosted a late-night show on WLS in the late 1990s! Nowadays WLS plays nationally syndicated right wing pablum The Mark Levin Show and Red Eye Radio in Malloy's former 10pm-1am Central slot; Mike's current self-syndicated show is on at an earlier 8pm-11pm Central primetime slot.)