A pair of WGN Radio hosts brought home awards from the 2023 Peter Lisagor Awards for journalism in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
The 46th annual awards banquet was held at the Union League Club of Chicago on Friday.
Host John Williams took home the award for Best Featured Reporter or Host. Williams hosts the station’s midday show, including the Wintrust Business Lunch, from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. After originally debuting on WGN in 1997, Williams has been in his current role at the station since 2017.
Additionally, afternoon host Lisa Dent took home the award for Best Political and Government Reporting for her report on Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey’s change in his stance on abortion from June of last year. Dent hosts on WGN from 2:00-6:00 PM after joining the station in 2021. She previously spent the majority of her career working in the country format, and was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2016.
According to The Chicago Headline Club, the Lisagor Awards were established in 1977 to “inspire Chicago-area journalists to follow his outstanding example and to recognize truly superior contributions to journalism.”
Peter Lisagor worked as the Washington bureau chief of the Chicago Daily News from 1959 to 1976 and “was one of the nation’s most respected and well-known journalists” the organization touts.
