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Roe B. Conn (born June 6, 1964) is an American
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
host based in Chicago.


Career

Roe's first radio gig was Saturday overnights on WDUB in
Granville, Ohio Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is east of Columbus, the state capital, and west of Newar ...
. Early in his career Conn chose to use the on air pseudonym Robert Thomas, believing that his real name was not suitable for the radio business. Returning to Chicago after graduating from college he worked fill-in duties at WLUW, starting in August 1986. He then was the producer for Don Vogel on
WMAQ (AM) WSCR (670 AM) – branded as 670 The Score – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, servicing the Chicago metropolitan area and much of surrounding Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana and parts of the Mil ...
and Walter Jacobson at
WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Str ...
. On August 27, 1989 Conn debuted a Sunday morning radio show at
WLS (AM) WLS (890 kHz) 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 has its radio studios in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Dri ...
. Conn maintains that his performance went poorly, but that the program director ordered the show be continued after confusing Conn with another host. He received his first national exposure for his daily roundup of the O.J. Simpson trial. After that, he continued to host his regular show on
WLS (AM) WLS (890 kHz) 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 has its radio studios in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Dri ...
. Eventually he teamed up with Garry Meier to cohost the highly successful Roe & Garry Show. In 2004, amid an impasse in contract negotiations with the station, Meier did not renew his contract with WLS. Roe then became the sole host of the show, which also featured Jim Johnson and Christina Filiaggi. Many praise Roe Conn for having a good sense of humor and for being skilled at articulating his thoughts. In the spring 2006 ratings period, The Roe Conn Show became Chicago's most listened-to radio talk show among adults. On March 27, 2009, Conn announced on his WLS-AM radio show a new, parallel endeavor called "The Roe Report." The Roe Report was a nationally syndicated daily news/commentary segment initially airing in New York (WABC), Los Angeles (KABC) and Chicago (WLS-AM), filling the void left by the death of Paul Harvey. The final "Roe Report" aired October 29, 2010. A reason for ending the Report was not cited. On May 8, 2009, it was announced on the show that longtime associate Christina Filiaggi had been once more laid off by station management, and would be replaced by Chicago area newscaster Amy Jacobson the following week; however, after a change in management, she returned for the third time on March 26, 2010. On May 29, 2009, it was announced on the air that Bill Leff had been laid off by corporate management. Roe and Leff had often joked on the air about the similarity of their voices. On January 11, 2010, The Roe Conn Show became Roe and Cisco, as Cisco Cotto was introduced as the new cohost of the WLS afternoon show with Roe Conn. Also, Amy Jacobson was removed from her position doing traffic and weather for the show and daily appearances by
WLS-TV WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North Stat ...
anchor Ron Magers ceased, although Magers returned to the 3 p.m. hour on February 9, 2010. The following day the show became The Roe Conn Show again with the announcement that Cisco Cotto was leaving to host his own show on WLS from 9 to 11 a.m. On April 12, 2010,
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
became Roe's new on-air partner, and the show was rebranded The Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper. On October 8, 2014, Roe Conn announced that the '' Roe & Roeper,'' was cancelled and he'd be leaving WLS-AM 890 after 25 years. On January 15, 2015,
WGN Radio WGN (720 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, with studios on the 18th floor of 303 East Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WGN has a news/talk format, along with broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey and Northwestern ...
announced that Roe would be hosting afternoon drive from 3pm - 7pm, beginning on January 26. His last show on WGN was September 4, 2020 after management decided not to renew his contract than ran through the end of 2020. He is also a frequent guest and co-host of the Chicago daytime talk-show ''Windy City Live'' as of 2017. After leaving WGN, Conn began working for the Cook County Sheriff, specializing in carjackings.


Education

Roe is a 1986 graduate of
Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
, where he studied
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
.


Jim Condit Jr. ads

On November 2, 2006, Roe said he was disgusted that WLS 890 had to air Jim Condit Jr.'s political advertisements, issue statements accusing
Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. ...
and
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s of orchestrating the September 11, 2001, attacks and planning Phase 2 attacks. He pledged to contribute $6,500, the amount that Condit paid for his ads on Conn's show, to the Jewish United Fund and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. Condit's spots were pulled from WLS that afternoon.
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
columnist
Robert Feder Robert Feder (born May 17, 1956) is an American media blogger who was the television and radio columnist for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1980 until 2008, a blogger for Vocalo.org from 2009 until 2010, and a blogger for ''Time Out Chicago'' fro ...
lauded Roe's stance as one of the "genuine class acts" in radio that year.


Involvement with litigation

The Roe Conn show took a call on March 28, 2006, from a small-business owner who claimed to have spoken with a juror about the trial of former governor
George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...
. This possible juror misconduct was one of the bases for appeal in Ryan's conviction on criminal charges of corruption. Conn testified for the plaintiff at a civil proceeding involving his former on-air partner Garry Meier. In the suit, Meier's former manager Todd Musburger said he was owed money for work related to contract negotiations. Conn's testimony contradicted that of Meier, and the jury sided with Musburger.


Other business interests

Conn, in a partnership called R Plus Partners, owns two race horses. Ron Magers is also a member of this entity. On June 9, 2007, Conn became a winning owner when his horse, Greeley's Angel, won for the first time in Race 5 at Arlington Park. R Plus partners had a second horse, Sted's Pirate, but lost ownership after a $30,000 claims race at Churchill Downs on July 7, 2007.


Awards

Talkers Magazine ''Talkers Magazine'' is a trade-industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media". In addition to radio, it also covers talk shows on broadcast and cable television, a ...
recognized Conn as one of the "One hundred most influential radio hosts in America."


References


External links


Roe's Official SiteDownload & listen to previous episodes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conn, Roe American talk radio hosts Latin School of Chicago alumni Radio personalities from Chicago 1964 births Living people