Chicago Radio: Mike McConnell Expected to Depart

Mike McConnell

Mike McConnell, whose three-year run as midday personality on WGN 720 AM ended in August with a management  change at the Tribune Broadcasting news/talk station, is finally leaving the building, according to Chicago Media writer Robert Feder.

McConnell had been live-streaming and podcasting for WGN’s website — a major step down from the 50,000-watt stage he’d previously commanded.

Sources said McConnell’s agent has agreed to a tentative settlement with the station on the remaining two years of his $500,000-a-year contract. If everything works out as planned, McConnell presumably would be free to return to radio in Cincinnati, where he successfully spent most of the last 30 years.

McConnell hasn’t hosted a live show since Oct. 3. On Wednesday he told fans on Facebook:

Post by Mike McConnell.

Jimmy deCastro, president and general manager of WGN, declined to comment on McConnell’s status.

McConnell came to WGN in 2010 as part of an ill-fated effort by then-Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels to transform the legacy radio flagship into a more generic, issue-oriented talk station.

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