HR0201 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0201 LRB098 11587 GRL 43924 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the owners and employees of the WVON radio station in Chicago on the occasion of the station's 50th anniversary in 2013; and

WHEREAS, WVON originated from the acquisition of WHFC-1450AM, a 1,000-watt station licensed in Cicero, by Leonard and Phil Chess, the owners of Chess Records, a successful record label, which produced mega-hits for local artists such as Muddy Waters, Lil' Howlin' Wolf, and others; the brothers envisioned one station that would pull together the best radio talent who could galvanize all of black Chicago; and

WHEREAS, On April 1, 1963, WVON hit the airwaves in Chicago with a group of handpicked personalities, Franklin McCarthy, E. Rodney Jones, Herb Kent, Wesley South, and Pervis Spann, who eventually became known as "The Good Guys"; Ric Ricardo, Bill "Butterball" Crane, Ed Cook, Joe Cobb, Roy Wood, Ed Maloney, Bill "Doc" Lee, Don Cornelius, Richard Pegue, Isabel Joseph Johnson, Cecil Hale, and McKee Fitzhugh eventually joined the roster; under the direction of the station's general manager, Lucky Cordell, and its "Ambassador of Good Will", Bernadine C. Washington, the Good Guys held black Chicago captive for more than a decade and ranked consistently in the top 5 of the "most listened to" stations in the market; and

WHEREAS, The power of WVON soon went beyond the Chicago market; Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, had a special arrangement with WVON that every song he produced would be sent immediately to WVON before any other station; WVON also served as the voice of information for local and national affairs; during the riots that followed the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., WVON on-air personalities were there to lift the spirits and ease the tension that had erupted in neighborhoods across the city; and

WHEREAS, Following the death of Leonard Chess in 1969, the Chess family decided to sell WVON to George Gillette and Potter Palmer, who formed Globetrotter Communications; in 1977, Globetrotter Communications sold WVON to the Gannett Company; in 1986, at the height of the black community's political involvement in Chicago, Wesley South, co-owner of WVON, opted to change the station's format to talk, providing Chicago with its first black-talk radio format; and

WHEREAS, WVON will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a two-day celebration on April 5-7, which will include the station's "IMPACT 50" Grand Gala; and

WHEREAS, For 40 years, WVON has been and remains the drum major for the African-American community of Chicago and continues its mission of providing a platform on which black Chicago can air its concerns, voice its differences, and discuss the issues that affect society; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the owners and employees of the WVON radio station on the occasion of the station's 50th anniversary and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to WVON as a symbol of our esteem and respect.