Chicago Radio: Roe Conn Jarred Over Dismissal

Roe Conn

Longtime Chicago radio personality Roe Conn confirmed Wednesday that he has been dropped as afternoon host by WLS 890 AM after 25 years at the station, and that he was being replaced by Steve Dahl.

Conn and co-host Richard Roeper were abruptly pulled off the air as of Wednesday – with several months remaining on their contracts. Meanwhile, Cumulus Media, which owns WLS-AM, confirmed that Dahl will take over the afternoon shift beginning Nov. 3.

“There’s no question that it’s jarring,” Conn said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “The truth in radio is you never know the last time you’re going to be on the air, because they don’t let you say goodbye.”

Speaking on ABC 7’s “Windy City Live” Wednesday  morning, an emotional Conn told viewers that both he and Roeper were told they would no  longer be on the air at WLS-AM, effective immediately. Conn said the decision caught him by surprise “a little bit.” He used his television platform to thank and say goodbye to his radio listeners.

The first Chicago radio gig for Conn was as midday producer and then co-host for WMAQ 670 AM, beginning in 1986. He joined WLS in 1989 as a weekend host for the station, then owned by ABC Radio. In 1991, Conn was elevated to weekdays as host of the midday shift. He moved to afternoons in 1996, where he initially teamed up with Garry Meier – Dahl’s former on-air radio partner.

Conn began co-hosting the radio show with Roeper, a Sun-Times columnist, in 2010.