WIND (560 kHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. It is owned by the Salem Media Group with studios on NW Point Boulevard in Elk Grove Village.
WIND transmits with 5,000 watts, using a directional antenna with a four-tower array, in Griffith, Indiana. Due to its location near the bottom of the AM dial, transmitter power, and the surrounding region's flat land, WIND's daytime signal covers much of Northeast Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southeastern Wisconsin. Its nighttime pattern concentrates its signal in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas.
Programming WIND carries the Salem Radio Network line up of hosts, including Hugh Hewitt, Mike Gallagher, Chris Stigall, Larry Elder, Alex Marlow and Scott Jennings."Program Guide: Tuesday, WIND. Retrieved January 14, 2026. From Premiere Networks, WIND also carries The Sean Hannity Show. WIND airs two local shows on weekdays, Chicago's Morning Answer with Dan Proft, and Shaun Thompson in afternoons. Most hours begin with an update from Townhall News.
Much of the weekend is devoted to specialty talk shows on money, health and real estate, some of which is paid brokered programming."Program Guide: Saturday, WIND. Retrieved March 31, 2019."Program Guide: Sunday, WIND. Retrieved March 31, 2019. WIND is the flagship station for Carl Amari and Lisa Wolf's nationally syndicated nostalgia & showbiz program "Hollywood 360" which airs Saturday evenings.Gire, Dann. "S. Barrington man builds career on radio's Golden Age", Daily Herald. September 11, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2019. Northern Illinois Huskies football games air in the fall.
History Early history The station began broadcasting on August 16, 1927. Its original call sign was WJKS, and its original city of license was Gary, Indiana.Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission to the Congress of the United States for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1927. Federal Radio Commission. United States Government Printing Office. 1927. Retrieved March 23, 2019. It initially operated at 1290 kHz, and shared time with WSBC. Its studio and transmitter were located in the Gay Mill Ballroom, in Gary's Miller Beach neighborhood. The station was owned by the ballroom's owners, Thomas Johnson and Frances Kennedy. In 1928, its frequency was changed to 1360 kHz, where it shared time with WGES. Ralph Atlass purchased a 50% stake in the station in 1931."Deaths", Broadcasting. June 25, 1979. p. 95. Retrieved March 23, 2019. In 1932, WJKS's studios were moved to the Gary State Bank Building.
The station moved to its present 560 kHz frequency in 1933, after Chicago stations WIBO and WPCC, which had been operating at 560 kHz, were shut down."WIBO and WPCC Off Air But New Hearing Looming", Broadcasting. June 15, 1933. p. 14. Retrieved March 23, 2019. The station began full-time operations, and ran 1,000 watts. Its call sign was changed to WIND the same year. In 1934, the station's daytime power was increased to 2,500 watts and in 1935 its daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts. Its nighttime power was increased to 5,000 watts in 1941.
From the 1930s until 1985, WIND played "The Whiffenpoof Song" every night at 2 am.
In the fall of 1937, the station was one of several Chicago radio stations to donate airtime to Chicago Public Schools for a pioneering program in which the school district provided elementary school students with distance education amid a polio outbreak-related school closure.
In 1944, WIND's studios were moved to Chicago's Carbide & Carbon Building, and in 1947 its studios were moved to the South tower of the Wrigley Building.
In 1946, Ralph Atlass sold his stake in WIND to newspaper publisher John S. Knight for $800,000."Knight Buys 42% WIND Stock From R. L. Atlass for $800,000", Broadcasting. February 4, 1946. pp. 17, 74. Retrieved March 25, 2019. Atlass remained station manager of WIND.
Popular music era Eddie Hubbard began hosting a popular music program called the ABC Club in 1945."Vox Jox", Billboard. May 6, 1950. p. 28. Retrieved March 24, 2019."Disk Jockey Hooper Ratings", Billboard. Special Disk Jockey Supplement. October 2, 1948. p. 74. Retrieved March 24, 2019. By the late 1940s, much of the station's schedule was devoted to contemporary music.Weber, Clark (2008). Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years 1955-1975. Chicago's Books Press. p. 37. WIND was Chicago's leading hit music station in the 1950s.WIND Top 21. WIND. October 12, 1957. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
Howard Miller was WIND's program director from 1945 to 1949."Chicago's Top DJ: 18th Year at WIND", Billboard. April 11, 1964. pp. 12, 82. Retrieved March 24, 2019."DJ Miller Denies WIND's Charge", Billboard. May 18, 1968. p. 26. Retrieved March 24, 2019. In 1950, Miller started a longtime run as Chicago's top rated morning DJ. Miller would remain Chicago's top rated radio personality until leaving the station in 1968. Other WIND personalities during its music years included Jim Lounsbury,"Vox Jox", Billboard. June 3, 1950. p. 24. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Linn Burton,Smith, Wes. "A Chicago Voice Breaks With WIND Sign-Off", Chicago Tribune. December 13, 1985. Retrieved March 30, 2019. Jay Trompeter,"Chicago DJ's Promote 65th Anniversary", Billboard. May 16, 1953. p. 72. Retrieved March 30, 2019. Bernie Allen,Kates, Joan Giangrasse. "Bernie Allen, former WLS radio host, dies at 86", Chicago Tribune. December 1, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Lee Rogers,"Segue", Billboard. December 14, 1963. p. 35. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Dick Williamson,"Radio Response Rating", Billboard. October 31, 1964. p. 34. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Perry Marshall,Faggen, Gil. "Vox Jox", Billboard. March 16, 1963. p. 70. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Bruce Lee,"Radio Response Rating", Billboard. March 14, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved March 30, 2019. Kassidy,"Arnold—Visiting DJ", Billboard. August 14, 1965. p. 55. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Joel Sebastian,"Retailing Panel", Billboard. October 30, 1961. p. 42. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Robert W. Morgan,Shannon, Bob. "Robert W. Morgan - Part Two", All Access Music Group. August 14, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Chuck Benson and Kurt Russell,Hall, Claude. "Vox Jox", Billboard. July 20, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved March 29, 2019. Ron Britain, Bob Del Giorno,"From the Music Capitals of the World", Billboard. May 20, 1972. p. 43. Retrieved March 30, 2019. and Connie Szerszen.WIND's Top 56 of 74. WIND. 1974. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
From 1945 to 1957, WIND held the exclusive local rights to broadcast Chicago Cubs baseball.Shea, Stuart (2015). Calling the Game: Baseball Broadcasting from 1920 to the Present. SABR, Inc. p. 51. Retrieved March 27, 2019. Sportscasters on WIND during this period included Bert Wilson, Milo Hamilton, and Jack Quinlan.Nidetz, Steve. "Hamilton's Trail to Coopertown", Chicago Tribune. August 2, 1992. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
In 1956, the station was sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting for $5.3 million, which at the time was a record amount for a radio station."$16 Million Station Sales Signed or Brewing in Week", Broadcasting. August 27, 1956. p. 27. Retrieved March 25, 2019."WIND Control Shifts to WBC in Record $5.3 Million Deal", Broadcasting. December 24, 1956. p. 62. Retrieved March 25, 2019. At the time of the purchase, WIND had no news department, though the station subscribed to wire services.Labor Arbitration Reports. Volume 40. The Bureau of National Affairs, 1963. p. 60. Westinghouse established a news department at the station, and it aired 5-minute newscasts every hour."Stations By Format", Billboard. October 31, 1964. p. 34. Retrieved March 31, 2019. Earl Finckle was the station's meteorologist for a period.Lazare, Lewis. "Weather forecaster for Cubs", Chicago Sun-Times. July 6, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
In the 1960s, WIND shifted to a middle of the road, pop contemporary/pop standards format.Biro, Nick. "Chicago Radio: Kings Remain Assumptive; Heirs Presumptive", Billboard. March 28, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved March 29, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. March 14, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved March 29, 2019.Biro, Nick. "'Eve of Destruction' Has Its Day", Billboard. August 21, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved March 29, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. October 16, 1965. p. 62. Retrieved March 31, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. November 19, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved March 31, 2019. In 1967, the station began adding some harder tracks to its playlist."WCFL Is Looking to Be No. 1", Billboard. September 30, 1967. p. 34. Retrieved March 30, 2019."From the Music Capitals of the World", Billboard. May 27, 1967. p. 14. Retrieved March 30, 2019. Phil Nolan became general manager of WIND in 1969.Hall, Claude. "Vox Jox", Billboard. August 9, 1969. p. 58. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
In 1971, WIND evolved into an oldies-heavy adult contemporary format, playing hits from 1955 to present day.Paige, Earl. "At WIND, It's Music, Talk of Today", Billboard. March 6, 1971. pp. 34, 36. Retrieved March 30, 2019.Paige, Earl. "Moomey's 'Absolute Hits' Formula", Billboard. January 1, 1972. p. 10. Retrieved March 30, 2019. In addition to the music played on the station, WIND aired Contact, a nighttime talk show hosted by Dave Baum. Larry "The Legend" Johnson hosted overnights. Ed Schwartz served as a substitute host for Johnson, before replacing him as overnight host in 1973.Dahl, Bill. "Eddie Schwartz", Radio Chicago. Spring 1991. p. 32-33. Retrieved March 30, 2019. Schwartz had previously held several behind-the-scenes positions at WIND. Schwartz continued as overnight host on WIND until 1981, when he moved to 720 WGN.
In 1973, WIND won the George Foster Peabody Award for their series "From 18th Street: Destination Peking".
First talk era In September 1978, WIND switched to a news/talk format.Herbeck, Ray, Jr. "WIND Going Talk, So Other Chicago Stations Eye Audience", Billboard. July 29, 1978. Retrieved March 31, 2019. Local personalities included Clark Weber, Eddie Schwartz, Dave Baum, Steve King, and Jimmy Piersall."Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 34. Retrieved March 31, 2019."Photo News", Billboard. February 19, 1983. p. 57. Retrieved March 31, 2019.Bornstein, Rollye. "Photo News", Billboard. November 17, 1984. p. 15. Retrieved March 31, 2019.Chicago Radio Guide. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved March 31, 2019.Myslenski, Skip. "Piersall at Bat Again, Swinging at His Old Foes", Chicago Tribune. March 17, 1985. Retrieved March 31, 2019. Syndicated personalities heard on WIND included British-American talk show host Michael Jackson and Dr. Toni Grant. The Larry King Show was heard overnight.McCormick, Moria. "Larry King Gets Contemporary Boost", Billboard. January 25, 1986. p. 18. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
Spanish era