By Illinois Review
In a shocking cost-cutting move Tuesday, Chicago’s AM560 The Answer terminated longtime morning host Amy Jacobson, as the struggling conservative station grapples with declining relevance – fueled in part by its own hosts repeatedly attacking prominent, respected Trump supporters.
Jacobson, a beloved and nearly 16-year veteran of the station made the unexpected announcement late Tuesday on X, writing:
“After 15 1/2 years at WIND AM560 radio, due to staffing reductions, today was my last day on the air.”
For years, Jacobson co-hosted Chicago’s Morning Answer alongside Dan Proft – a polarizing and hyper-local media figure who delivers commentary on Chicago politics from his home base in south Florida.
In 2022, Proft relocated to Florida, while studio executives scrambled to hide the fact that he no longer broadcasts from the Chicagoland suburban studio.
Besides hosting a Chicago radio show remotely from Florida, Proft has built a fortune as a political consultant for Illinois campaigns — but unfortunately, most of his candidates have ended up losing. His track record is as disappointing as former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus’ 14-32 record before being fired in 2024.
While Jacobson – who many believed represented the heart and soul of the morning show, will no longer be on air, she is however, launching a new venture, writing,
“I am still processing this but I am happy to announce I have launched AmyJacobsonLive.com where I will be hosting a weekly podcast, posting behind-the-scenes blogs, live streaming.”
It’s widely known across northern Illinois that AM560 hosts Shaun Thompson — who broadcasts his Chicago-based show from Naples, Florida — and Jeanne Ives frequently criticize prominent Trump supporters on air, including this publication, the only major conservative news outlet in Illinois ever shared by President Donald Trump on his personal Truth Social page.
In September 2023, Ives criticized a local event featuring Donald Trump Jr., falsely claiming it struggled to sell tickets. During the 2024 presidential primary, she endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump — despite Trump leading DeSantis by more than 35 points at the time.
In an April 2023 interview with Crain’s Chicago Business, Ives gave a blunt on-the-record response about IR, saying, “I don’t read their garbage.” Similarly, Thompson – a close friend of Proft and his Florida-based realtor – has dismissed the Trump-supporting publication as a “rag.”
In June 2023, IR editor-in-chief and Trump administration advisor Mark Vargas resigned from AM560 as their Sunday evening radio host after Thompson went on a vile, racist rant after calling-into Black and Right Radio – calling the co-host a “moron with the taffy apple head,” as the two sparred over politics.
Thompson continued his hate-filled rant aimed directly at the cohost, telling him, “you’re a disgrace, you shouldn’t go near a microphone, you’re too stupid.”
But Thompson didn’t stop there – he escalated the insult on air by telling the Black co-host, “80 percent of you people are morons; 80 percent of you idiots who pretend to be Republican.”
As Vargas pointed out in his resignation letter,
“This vile and disgusting behavior does not represent my values. The phone calls and texts that I have received over the last few days only echo the shock and disgust that I felt while listening to Saturday’s show. It’s hard to listen too – and for very good reason.
And while Shaun continues to be one of the most promoted and celebrated on-air radio personalities at the station, I cannot in good conscience continue hosting my radio show, sharing a microphone and a studio with an individual that’s so full of anger – and can say such terrible things. Therefore, I resign, effective immediately.”
The station wasted no time removing Jacobson from its website and social media platforms on Tuesday — a move likely to send shockwaves through its already limited listener base.
