Chicago Radio: WLS-AM’s Jim Johnson To Retire

Jim Johnson

One strong voice has been consistently delivering the news on WLS-AM since 1968: Jim Johnson. All good things must come to an end, though. Jim Johnson announced Tuesday on the WLS-AM airwaves that he had decided to call it a career after 45 years and retire the end of June.

In a conversation with Chicagoland Radio & Media Tuesday, Jim Johnson said simply "It's time." Adding "I've done everything I've always wanted to do." He just felt it was right point for him to start a new chapter in his life, which means walking away from the radio business.

Johnson says that his decision to retire is entirely his own. There was no pressure put on him by station management or ownership to come to this conclusion. This summer when he exits, he will be doing so on the best of terms possible.

In 1995, Johnson was the proud winner of a prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for news coverage.

Many of the greatest radio personalities in history have worked at WLS-AM during the four and a half decades that Jim Johnson has been there. Some of the radio giants he lists as working with include Larry Lujack, Fred Winston, John Landecker, Steve Dahl, and Garry Meier (twice).

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