WYLL (1160 kHz) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It originated as WJJD and broadcast some pioneering shows. It is owned by Salem Media Group and airs a Christian radio format. The studios and offices are located in Elk Grove Village. Its daytime transmitter and two-tower array are located off Ballard Road near Interstate 294 in Des Plaines. The nighttime transmitter and six-tower array are off Deer Drive near Interstate 355 in Lockport.
WYLL operates at 50,000 watts around the clock. However, unlike Chicago's other two 50,000-watt AM stations, WSCR and WLS, WYLL is a class B regional station, and has fewer protections from other stations than clear-channel WSCR and WLS. Its daytime signal provides at least secondary coverage to half of Illinois, as well as portions of Wisconsin (including Milwaukee), Indiana and Michigan. At night, it must adjust its coverage to protect clear-channel KSL in Salt Lake City, hence the different tower sites.
History WJJD On October 13, 1924, the station first signed on 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.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.Corrected List of Broadcasting Stations", Radio Age. August 1925. p. 100. Retrieved January 24, 2019.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, 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 clear-channel station, 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.Radio Guide. Chicago Edition. Week ending April 30, 1938. Retrieved January 25, 2019. and 40s.Movie-Radio Guide. December 27, 1941. Retrieved January 25, 2019.Movie-Radio Guide. March 1943. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
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."WJJD Moves Studios", Broadcasting. May 1, 1933. p. 9. 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. Its frequency was changed to 1160 in 1941, as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.
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 students with distance education amid a polio outbreak-related school closure.
Lew Fonseca and Charlie Grimm broadcast Chicago Cubs baseball games on WJJD during the 1939 and 1940 seasons.Skipper, John C. (2004). The Cubs Win the Pennant!: Charlie Grimm, the Billy Goat Curse, and the 1945 World Series Run. McFarland & Company. p. 22. Retrieved January 24, 2019. WJJD won the exclusive rights to broadcast Cubs games locally in 1944, though 560 WIND won exclusive rights to broadcast the following season.Shea, Stuart (2015). Calling the Game: Baseball Broadcasting from 1920 to the Present. SABR, Inc. p. 51. Retrieved January 24, 2019. 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."Chisox Publicity Man to Become Sports Editor", Decatur Herald. November 14, 1950. p. 14."Ed Short to Head WJJD's Expanded Flack-Promotion", Billboard. July 20, 1946. p. 11. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
In 1944, the station was sold to Field Enterprises for approximately $750,000."Marshall Field to take 2d Spin in Radio", Billboard. March 11, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved January 25, 2019."WIND Planning to Give Chicago Different Segs", Billboard. August 12, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved January 25, 2019.Winner, Lewis. "Spot Radio News", Radio News. May 1944. p. 14. Retrieved January 25, 2019. 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."Marshall Field Outlet Starts Air's First All-Negro Serial", Billboard. March 15, 1947. p. 5. Retrieved January 25, 2019."Pro Football On 22-Station Midwest Net", Billboard. October 4, 1947. p. 10. Retrieved January 25, 2019. Al Benson was a R&B disc jockey on WJJD in the late 1940s.Sippel, Johnny. "Chi Dealers Tackle Problems", Billboard. March 26, 1949. p. 44. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
In 1953, Plough Broadcasting purchased WJJD for $900,000."FCC Approves Plough Buy of WJJD; 13 Station Transfers Granted", Broadcasting. September 14, 1953. p. 56. Retrieved January 25, 2019. Plough Broadcasting was a subsidiary of the large pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough. WJJD featured both pop"The Cash Box Disk Jockeys Regional Record Reports", The Cash Box. June 5, 1954. p. 18. Retrieved April 27, 2020."The Cash Box Round the Wax Circle", The Cash Box. October 16, 1954. p. 16. Retrieved April 27, 2020."Radio and Television Programs", The Hammond Times. August 1, 1955. p. 10. Retrieved January 26, 2019.Overholser, Martha. "Disk Jockeys, 14 and 16, Give Real Teen Show", Chicago Tribune. April 19, 1953. Section 3, Radio. 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.Sippel, Johnny. "Disk Jockey Doings", Billboard. October 20, 1951. p. 32. Retrieved January 26, 2019."C&W Disk Jockeys... Favorites", Billboard. November 13, 1954. p. 78. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
In June 1956, WJJD left country music for several years, flipping to a Top 40 format."Radio Disk Jockeys Take High Hurdles In Stiff Ratings Race", Billboard. September 29, 1956. pp. 1, 31. Retrieved January 23, 2019. But with tough competition from 890 WLS in the early 1960s, WJJD shifted to a pop standard format."Stations By Format", Billboard. March 14, 1964. p. 18. Retrieved January 23, 2019.Biro, Nick. "Chicago Radio: Kings Remain Assumptive; Heirs Presumptive", Billboard. March 28, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved January 23, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. October 31, 1964. p. 34. Retrieved January 23, 2019. In 1961, the studios were moved to the transmitter site in Des Plaines.
On February 15, 1965, WJJD adopted a country music format."Plough's WJJD to Go Country Format", Billboard. January 30, 1965. pp. 3, 42. Retrieved January 23, 2019.Brack, Ray. "WJJD Format Boosts Country", Billboard. October 16, 1965. pp. 3, 60, & 62. Retrieved January 23, 2019."Stations By Format", Billboard. 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" format as WJEZ."WJJD-FM Out; New Country In", Billboard. February 26, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
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.Alridge, Ron. "CBS rated winner as troubled TV season is put to rest", Chicago Tribune. April 19, 1982. Section 3, p. 11.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.Public Notice Comment - BMP-19880701AD, fcc.gov. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
In February 1982, WJJD adopted an adult standards format, and carried programming from the syndicated "Music of Your Life" network.Alridge, Ron. "Big band bandwagon gets rolling", Chicago Tribune. March 1, 1982. Section 2, p. 8."WJJD-AM Gets Big Band Format", Billboard. March 20, 1982. p. 16. Retrieved January 26, 2019.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, the Count Basie Orchestra, Tony Bennett, Patti Page, the McGuire Sisters, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Nat King Cole, and Barbra Streisand."Man of Many Media", Billboard. August 24, 1985. p. 15. Retrieved January 26, 2019.Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988/Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved January 26, 2019. Hosts included Eddie Hubbard and Art Hellyer.Zorn, Eric. "Hubbard, Hellyer at WJJD: Two stars of past find future", Chicago Tribune. October 4, 1982. Section 3, p. 1. Hubbard and Hellyer both left WJJD in 1983, with Hubbard joining AM 820 WAIT."Programming", Broadcasting & Cable. July 4, 1983. p. 101. Retrieved April 27, 2020.Zorn, Eric. "Deejay Hellyer will retire", Chicago Tribune. September 26, 1983. Section 5, p. 7.
In 1984, WJJD and WJEZ were sold to Infinity Broadcasting for $13.5 million."Infinity on the Move", Radio & Records. March 23, 1984. p. 1. Retrieved January 25, 2019. Clark Weber joined WJJD in 1985, hosting a talk show weekday mornings, while adult standards continued to air in the remainder of the schedule.Freeman, Kim. "Vox Jox", Billboard. November 30, 1985. p. 13. Retrieved January 26, 2019."Chicago's Talking to Clark Weber", Daily Herald. January 25, 1989. Section 3/Sports 5. Retrieved January 26, 2019.Kening, Dan. "Golden Oldie", Chicago Tribune. July 24, 1990. Retrieved January 26, 2019."WJJD AM 1160", Radio Chicago. Winter 1990. p. 41. Retrieved January 26, 2019. In April 1993, the station began airing G. Gordon Liddy's syndicated talk show middays.Kening, Dan. "Right to Right", Chicago Tribune. May 4, 1993. Retrieved January 26, 2019."Monday through Friday – Personalities at a Glance", Chicago Airwaves. August 1993. p. 14. Retrieved January 26, 2019.