WYLL (1160 AM) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Salem Media Group and airs a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk programm ...

radio format. The

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s and offices are located in

Elk Grove Village Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorpora ...

. Its daytime transmitter and two- tower array are located off Ballard Road near

Interstate 294 Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/ I-94 and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to N ...

in Des Plaines. The nighttime transmitter and six-tower array are off Deer Drive near

Interstate 355 Interstate 355 (I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an Interstate Highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of th ...

in Lockport. WYLL is powered with 50,000 watts, the maximum for commercial AM stations in the U.S. But it must use a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

at all times to protect

clear-channel station A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...

KSL in Salt Lake City, the dominant Class A station and several Class B stations on

1160 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1160 kHz: in the United States and Mexico. Radio station KSL in Salt Lake City is the dominant Class A station on 1160 AM, a United States clear-channel frequency, according to the U.S. ...

. WYLL features programs from national religious leaders such as Dr.

David Jeremiah David Jeremiah is an American evangelical Christian author, founder of Turning Point Radio and Television Ministries and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch in El Cajon, California, a suburb of San D ...

John MacArthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to: *J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman *John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author * John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pro ...

, Rick Warren, Chuck Swindoll and Jim Daly. Some shows are also hosted by Chicago-area pastors. Hosts pay for time on WYLL and may use their shows to appeal for donations to their ministries.

History

WJJD

On October 13, 1924, the station first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

with the call sign WJJD.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 44-52.
1971 Broadcasting Yearbook
', Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-62. Retrieved January 23, 2019. The station was owned by the Loyal Order of Moose and was located in

Mooseheart, Illinois Mooseheart, located in Kane County, Illinois, is an unincorporated community and a home for children administered by the Loyal Order of Moose. Also known as the City of Children, the community is featured as a 1949 episode of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ...

.History Cards for WYLL
fcc.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2019. It was powered at 500 watts and operated at 278 meters (1080 kHz).List of Broadcast Stations
, '' Radio News''. December 1924. p. 964. Retrieved January 23, 2019. In January 1925, its frequency was changed to 990 kHz and in December 1925 it was changed to 810 kHz.
Citizens Radio Call Book
'. Vol. 7, No. 1. Spring 1926. p. 24. Retrieved January 24, 2019. By 1926, the station's power had been increased to 1,000 watts. In 1926, auxiliary studios were established in the

Palmer House The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevators, ...

, from which a variety of musical programming was broadcast.
Chicago Radio Program
'. Vol. 1, No. 1. September 19–25, 1927. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
Chicago Radio Weekly
'. Vol. 1, No. 24. March 22, 1931. Retrieved January 25, 2019. In 1927, the station's frequency was changed to 820 kHz, and the following year its frequency was changed to 1180 kHz and its power was increased to 20,000 watts. In 1929, its frequency was changed to 1130 kHz. For most of its history, WJJD was a daytimer, required to sign off at sunset in Salt Lake City, to protect

, KSL. WJJD aired a variety of music, general entertainment, sports, and public interest programming in the 1920s, 30s,
Radio and Amusement Guide
'. Chicago Edition. Vol. 1, No. 16. Week of February 7–13, 1932. Retrieved January 25, 2019. and 40s. In 1933, the station was sold to a firm headed by Ralph Atlass, and its studios were moved to the Trustees System Service Building in Chicago.Ralph Atlass Acquires WJJD, Moose Station; Details Are Withheld
, '' Broadcasting''. April 15, 1933. p. 14. Retrieved January 25, 2019. In 1936, the station's transmitter was moved to Des Plaines and in 1940 its studios were moved to the

Carbide & Carbon Building The Carbide & Carbon Building is a 37-story, landmark Art Deco high rise built in 1929, located on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. It was converted to a hotel in 2004. History The building was designed by the Burnham Brothers (the firm launched ...

. Its frequency was changed to 1160 in 1941, as a result of the

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, es, Convenio Regional Norteamericano de Radiodifusión) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreem ...

. 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 A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

students with distance education amid a polio outbreak-related school closure. Lew Fonseca and Charlie Grimm broadcast

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

baseball games on WJJD during the

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

seasons. WJJD won the exclusive rights to broadcast Cubs games locally in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

, though 560 WIND won exclusive rights to broadcast the following season. Ed Short was the station's director of sports publicity and promotion from 1946 until 1950, when he became the Chicago White Sox press and promotion director. In 1944, the station was sold to Field Enterprises for approximately $750,000. In 1947, the station's power was increased to 50,000 watts, although it could only broadcast during the daytime. In 1947, WJJD began airing ''Here Comes Tomorrow'', which was the first radio serial with an all African-American cast. Al Benson was a R&B disc jockey on WJJD in the late 1940s. In 1953, Plough Broadcasting purchased WJJD for $900,000. Plough Broadcasting was a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of the large pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough. WJJD featured both

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and country music programs in the 1950s, in an era where country and western music was not common on radio stations in Northern U.S. cities. In June 1956, WJJD left country music for several years, flipping to a Top 40 format. But with tough competition from 890 WLS in the early 1960s, WJJD shifted to a pop standard format. In 1961, the studios were moved to the transmitter site in Des Plaines. WJJD-WYLL studio building

On February 15, 1965, WJJD adopted a country music format.Plough's WJJD to Go Country Format
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. January 30, 1965. pp. 3, 42. Retrieved January 23, 2019.Stations By Format
, ''

''. October 16, 1965. p. 62. Retrieved January 23, 2019. The station's programming was simulcast on 104.3 WJJD-FM, with the FM station continuing WJJD's country programming after sunset. In 1966, its studios and transmitter were moved one mile west. In 1977, the simulcast ended when 104.3 FM switched to a "

beautiful country ''The Beautiful Country'' is a 2004 drama film set in 1990. It is directed by Hans Petter Moland and starring Damien Nguyen, Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Chau Thi Kim Xuan, Tim Roth, Anh Thu, Temuera Morrison and John Hussey. The screenplay was wri ...

" format as WJEZ. In April 1982, the station began 24-hour operations, running 2,500 watts at night, with plans to increase its nighttime power to 10,000 watts in July.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-71. Retrieved January 26, 2019. However, its nighttime power was reduced to 5,000 watts later that decade.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1989
', Broadcasting & Cable, 1989. p. B-89. Retrieved January 26, 2019. In February 1982, WJJD adopted an adult standards format, and carried programming from the syndicated " Music of Your Life" network.
Chicago Radio Guide
'. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved January 14, 2019.Alridge, Ron. "WJJD having time of its life with 'Music of Your Life'", '' Chicago Tribune''. July 5, 1982. Section 2, p. 8. Its audience share tripled following the format change.Duncan, James H.
Chicago: 12+ Metro Share
, ''An American Radio Trilogy 1975 to 2004''. Volume 1: The Markets. Duncan's American Radio. Retrieved April 27, 2020. The station was branded "Music of the Stars" and featured artists such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, the Count Basie Orchestra, Tony Bennett,

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

, the McGuire Sisters,

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

, Tommy Dorsey, Nat King Cole, and Barbra Streisand. Hosts included Eddie Hubbard and Art Hellyer. Hubbard and Hellyer both left WJJD in 1983, with Hubbard joining AM 820 WAIT. In 1984, WJJD and WJEZ were sold to Infinity Broadcasting for $13.5 million. Clark Weber joined WJJD in 1985, hosting a talk show weekday mornings, while adult standards continued to air in the remainder of the schedule.WJJD AM 1160
, ''Radio Chicago''. Winter 1990. p. 41. Retrieved January 26, 2019. In April 1993, the station began airing

G. Gordon Liddy George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and convicted felon in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon admi ...

's syndicated talk show middays. In November 1994, WJJD dropped adult standards music altogether for a full-time

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

format.Stark, Phyllis.
Vox Jox
, ''

''. November 26, 1994. p. 121. Retrieved January 27, 2019. Hosts included

Ed Vrdolyak Edward Robert Vrdolyak (; born December 28, 1937), also known as "Fast Eddie", is a former American politician and lawyer. He was a longtime Chicago alderman and the head of the Cook County Democratic Party until 1987 when he ran unsuccessfully ...

, Ty Wansley, G. Gordon Liddy, David Brenner, the ''

Don and Mike Show The ''Don and Mike Show'' was an American nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by the shock jocks Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, which aired from December 1985 through April 11, 2008. The show debuted on WAVA-FM in 1985 as ''The Mornin ...

'', Tom Leykis and Jim Bohannon. WJJD began airing '' The Howard Stern Show'' mornings in October 1995. Ed Vrdolyak and Ty Wansley were moved from mornings, and replaced Don and Mike in the afternoon. On July 29, 1996, WJJD returned to an adult standards format, though it retained G. Gordon Liddy and Tom Leykis's programs. In 1996, Infinity Broadcasting was purchased by the parent company of CBS. That meant WJJD was now

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

s with WBBM and WBBM-FM. On February 3, 1997, the station began simulcasting the oldies programming of 104.3 WJMK.

WSCR

In 1997, CBS sold its Chicago sports radio station 820 WSCR. CBS wanted to put its sports programming on a more powerful station, so WSCR's sports shows were moved to AM 1160 on April 7, 1997. The station was branded ''The Score''.History Of The Score: Chapter III – The AM 1160 Years
,

CBS 2 Chicago 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 Stre ...

. January 3, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2019. Hosts on ''The Score'' during this period included Norm Van Lier,

Doug Buffone Douglas John Buffone (June 27, 1944 – April 20, 2015) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League. Buffone, the son of a coal miner (whose parents were Italian immigrants from the southern province of Cosenza, regione di ...

, Terry Boers,

Dan Bernstein Daniel Julius Bernstein (sometimes known as djb; born October 29, 1971) is an American German mathematician, cryptologist, and computer scientist. He is a visiting professor at CASA at Ruhr University Bochum, as well as a research professor of ...

Mike North Mike North (born c. 1952) is an American radio sports personality, formerly working for Clear Channel Communications as a cohost with Andy Furman on ''Fox Sports Daybreak'' Mon-Friday from 5am-8am CST on their Fox Sports Radio subsidiary, until ...

, Dan McNeil, and

Dan Jiggetts Danny Marcellus Jiggetts (born March 10, 1954) is a retired American football offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1976 NFL Draft. Early life Jiggetts was born in Brooklyn, but grew up on Long Island when his paren ...

. On August 1, 2000, Infinity Broadcasting ended 670 WMAQ's

all news All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

format, leaving co-owned WBBM 780 as the only all-news formatted station in Chicago. At that point, WMAQ began simulcasting WSCR's sports programming.Kirk, Jim.
WSCR Now in Pressure Cooker
, '' Chicago Tribune''. August 1, 2000. Retrieved January 22, 2020. Two weeks later, the WSCR call sign officially moved to AM 670, retiring the long-standing WMAQ call letters on 670 in the process.Format Changes & Updates
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 17, No. 33. August 16, 2000. p. 1. Retrieved January 27, 2019. On August 15, 2000, 1160's call sign was changed to WXRT, and the station began simulcasting the adult album alternative programming of 93.1 WXRT-FM. WYLL daytime transmitter site 2

WYLL

In late 2000, Salem Communications purchased the station for $29 million. In February 2001, Salem moved the Christian talk programming of WYLL 106.7 FM to 1160 AM, along with the WYLL call letters.Format Changes & Updates
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 18, No. 06. February 7, 2001. p. 1. Retrieved January 27, 2019. The station was branded "Chicago's Word". FM 106.7 switched to a

Christian contemporary music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

format the following month. In addition to the primarily national Christian talk and teaching programming heard on the station,

Sandy Rios Sandy Rios is an American Family Association member, governmental affairs director, a Fox News Channel contributor, and a talk radio host. She is chairman of the North Korean Freedom Coalition, a coalition that advocates for the citizens of ...

hosted a local talk show weekday afternoons on WYLL from 1994 to 2001 and again from 2007 to 2010, when she moved to Washington, D.C. On April 7, 2005, WYLL's nighttime power was increased to 50,000 watts. Feder, Robert. "WFMT wins Peabody for Bernstein series", '' Chicago Sun-Times''. April 8, 2005. p. 71. The higher power required a six-tower directional array, with the towers used for daytime broadcasts about 30 miles away from the towers used for nighttime operation.

References

External links

WYLL's official website

WYLL
Slang Words {{Religious Radio Stations in Illinois YLL YLL Radio stations established in 1924 1924 establishments in Illinois Salem Media Group properties