John Williams

Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, joins John Williams to talk about new medical guidance that suggests that more adults should consider starting cholesterol-lowering medications earlier to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.

John Williams, Steve Alexander, Lou Manfredini, and the great WGN listeners reflect on the life and legacy of WGN Radio legend, the one and only Orion Samuelson, who passed away at age 91.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about election day in Illinois, the races that he’s most interested in, the Chicago City Council expected to vote on restoring Chicago’s subminimum wage, and what he thinks of CTU wanting students to take a day off of school to engage in civic engagement. Also, don’t forget to vote in Eric’s Quip Madness Tournament!

Sam Panayotovich, Fox Sports Betting Analyst and co-host of the sports betting show “Chicken Dinner,” joins John Williams to give us his picks for the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected].

Austin Berg, Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center and author of the The Last Ward on Substack, joins John Williams to talk about a new Washington Post editorial backing four key reforms to change Chicago’s financial trajectory.

Jackson Potter, Vice President, Chicago Teachers Union, joins John Williams to talk about the effort to close schools on May 1st so students and teachers can take part in a civic day of action.

The great Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, joins John Williams to tell us the projects we need to be working on this week. Lou says that after all the storms over the past week, it’s a good idea to give your house a good inspection to see if you suffered any wind damage that needs to be fixed by a professional.

Listen to HouseSmarts Radio on WGN each Saturday morning at 6 am.

John Williams brings you another round of Speed Jokes. Keep sending yours to [email protected].

Former WGN Radio news anchor Steve Bertrand was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the RTDNA Foundation at their 2026 First Amendment Awards.

The foundation’s awards celebrate the efforts to promote responsible journalism and preserve the constitutionally guaranteed rights to do so. Past honorees include local reporters, network anchors, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple U.S. Senators.

A cornerstone of the airwaves for four decades, Steve Bertrand retired from WGN Radio in November 2025. His tenure with the station began as an intern in the 1980s, eventually transitioning to anchoring the news in 1992.

Watch Steve’s acceptance speech:

Listen to Steve’s acceptance speech:

Click here for video of the full event from the RTDNA website.

Click here for more on the event from the RTDNA website.

Photo gallery:

• Steve Bertrand accepting Lifetime Achievement Award
• Steve Bertrand gets NBC’s Tom Llamas to call his mom
• Page from the program at the Radio Television Digital News Association 2026 First Amendment Awards
• Page from the program at the Radio Television Digital News Association 2026 First Amendment Awards
• Steve Bertrand accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award from the RTDNA 2026 First Amendment Awards
• WGN Radio News Director, Ryan Burrow with Steve Bertrand at the RTDNA 2026 First Amendment Awards in Washington, D.C.
• Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C.
• Several Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism students were honored at the 2026 RTDNA First Amendment Awards, and wanted to meet Steve.
• Vladimir Duthiers (CBS News), Steve Bertrand (WGN Radio), Juju Chang (ABC News) were among the award winners
• German journalists with the RIAS Berlin Commission celebrated Steve Bertrand’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 RTDNA First Amendment Awards at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
• Steve Bertrand and CBS 2 Chicago’s Asal Rezaei were honored by the Radio Television Digital News Association at the 2026 First Amendment Awards