The Chicago Daily Observer Mourns the Passing of Jim Edwards, aka Jake Hartford: 1949-2013
Our condolences to the family of WLS Personality Jake Hartford.
From Time Out
From Walter Jacobson to John Kass, some of the biggest names in Chicago media are forever indebted to James Edwards for making them look good time and time again.
As Jim Edwards, he was an award-winning investigative producer for CBS 2, a mentor to numerous journalists, and a confidante to governors, anchormen and columnists.
As his alter ego Jake Hartford, he was a uniquely gifted radio personality who reached a career peak with his promotion just one month ago to Monday-through-Friday midday host at news/talk WLS-AM (890).
But colleagues are remembering him mainly as a true Chicago original and a “great, loyal and honest friend” who never took a bit of his success for granted.
Edwards, 63, suffered a heart attack and died Saturday at his home in southwest suburban Lockport. “This is devastating news for everyone in our family, and we greatly appreciate all of the kind words that have been offered to us during our struggle,” his family said in a statement Sunday. “It’s truly incredible how many people he has affected positively through pursuing the work that he loved so dearly.”
Didn’t care for the guy. Always ragging on the city of chicago, although he lived in the suburbs. I called him out several times on the air.
Feel bad for his family though….
Chicago radio has an interesting history with radio partnerships. On air hosts are often paired with another host and the sometimes the shared time works, sometimes it doesn’t. I think Jake and John Kass had a good partnership and I enjoyed their show together.
I remember he was also paired with Tom Roeser for a while.
RIP JAKE I WILL MISS YOU I AM VERY GLAD I HAD A CHANCE TO MEET YOU AT MY SONS HOUSE, HE PICKED UP HIS SON AND I GOT TO MEET HIM I WAS VERY EXCITED TO MEET HIM I TOLD HIM TO CONTINUE HIS TIME CHANGE THING HE LAUGHED SO HARD, THIS IS HOW I REMEMBER HIM, WHAT A GUY AND A NICE FAMILY.
FORGOT ONE THING THE WAY I KNEW IT WAS JAKE WHEN I MET HIM, I WAS TALKING TO HIS SON HE HAS SUCH A NICE VOICE. I SAID TO HIM YOU SHOULD BE ON THE RADIO SOMEDAY YOU HAVE A NICE VOICE THATS WHEN HE TOLD ME HIS DAD WAS JAKE. I WAS SO EXCITED HIS DAD WAS GOING TO PICK HIM UP AND THATS WHEN I MET JAKE HARTFORD ON WLS WHO WE WILL ALL MISS
Casey, you are a jerk. Someone just died young leaving his kids and wife and you are going to say you don’t care for the guy and called him out several times on the radio. You are a sad sad person. Yes he lived in the suburbs, but worked in Chicago and owned a business downtown. This is an article about someone passing, leave your opinions somewhere else.
So sad. Such a loss. The work I do didn’t allow me to hear Jake in the middays very often, but always looked forward to his Saturday morning show. When he wasn’t on last week, I assumed he was on vacation and quickly turned off the replacement show. Then I caught a moment of the midday show and heard another partner and realized there was no mention of Jake. When he wasn’t on today, I dug deeper and am sadly stunned to learn of his death. Thoughts and prayers are with his family. Even before I knew of the reason, Jake was missed from the airwaves. Now my heart goes out to those who lost their husband, father and friend. Jake will be missed; Jim will be mourned. Rest in peace, fine soul.
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