WCGO (defunct)

WCGO 1600 AM was a radio station licensed to Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA. The station ran 1,000 watts during the day and 23 watts at night.^[1][2] WCGO served southern Cook County, Illinois, most of central and eastern Will County, Illinois, and northern Lake County, Indiana during daytime hours, while its nighttime coverage was more limited.^[3]

History

WCGO began broadcasting in 1959 and was originally owned by Anthony Santucci's South Cook Broadcasting Inc.^[4][5] The station originally broadcast during daytime hours only.^[1]

Full service years

WCGO had long aired a full service format airing local news and talk programming and playing Middle of the road (MOR) music, which at various points included Pop Standards and Easy listening, and later on Adult contemporary music.^[6][7][8][9] Much of the station's local news, talk and community programming was simulcast on its sister station 102.3 WTAS in Crete, Illinois, until 1992.^[10][7] In 1985, the station began airing the Warren Freiberg - Libby Collins Show, which had been heard on 106.3 WLNR in Lansing, Illinois since 1973.^[10] By 1993 talk programming had replaced most music on the station.^[11]

In the summer of 1994, Anthony Santucci sold WCGO to M&M Broadcasting, a firm led by former Hammond, Indiana mayor Thomas McDermott, Sr.^[12][13] In August 1994, WCGO began nighttime operations, with light adult contemporary music airing from 7 pm to 5:59 am, while talk programming continued to air during the day.^[14] In 1997, M&M Broadcasting sold the station to Q Broadcasting.^[15]

Unforgettable 1600

From 1997 until the time it was taken off the air in 2009, the station's format was Adult standards, featuring programming from Timeless,^[13] and its predecessors; Timeless Favorites, Timeless Classics and Stardust.^[16] During this period the station was known as "Unforgettable 1600".^[4][17]

End of operations

In 2002, the station was purchased by Kovas Communications, who intended to take it, along with 1580 WKKD and 1600 WMCW, off the air in order to enable co-owned station 1590 WONX in Evanston, Illinois to increase its daytime power.^[18][17] WCGO went silent at 6 pm on April 10, 2009,^[19] and its license was surrendered to the FCC, enabling 1590 WONX to increase its daytime power from 3,500 watts to 7,000 watts.^[20][17] On April 13, 2009, 1590 WONX took on the WCGO call sign.^[21] Kovas Communications had held a construction permit, which would have moved the station to Jenison, Michigan (near Grand Rapids), broadcasting on 1020 kHz at 10,000 watts during daytime hours only, though this move never occurred.^[17]

References