please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message wusn city chicago illinois broadcast area chicago market branding us 99 slogan chicago s hottest country frequency 99.5 mhz also on hd radio 99.5 hd 2 for the wolf future country first air date june 1 1961 format country erp 5 700 watts haat 425 meters class b facility id 28620 callsign meaning us ninety nine frequency owner cbs radio cbs radio of chicago llc sister stations wbbm am wbbm fm wcfs fm wjmk wscr wxrt part of cbs corp. cluster with tv station wbbm tv webcast listen live website us995.cbslocal.com wusn 99.5 fm is a radio station in chicago illinois which plays mainly current new country with some select 1990s tracks . owned by cbs radio and branded as us 99 it is based at two prudential plaza in the loop and transmits from atop the john hancock center with an hd radio signal . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 99.5 wefm 99 we fm 1.2 us 99 1.3 controversy 2 awards 3 references 4 external links history edit 99.5 wefm 99 we fm edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message until 1978 99.5 was classical wefm one of the first us fm stations and the second station in the united states to broadcast in fm stereo . the station was owned by the major locally based radio television manufacturer zenith . it started as wwzr in 1940 on 45.1 also as w51c then on 98.5 when the fm band moved . it changed to 99.5 and wefm named for zenith executive eugene f. mcdonald during the late 40s which it was until it was sold . during this time the only commercials were for zenith one each hour usually directing listeners to a display salon of zenith products located on the magnificent mile michigan avenue where no sales are made . in the early 1970s zenith agreed to sell wefm to general cinema corporation which intended to change the station s call letters to wicv pseudo roman numerals for 99.5 and institute a rock format . objections from listeners delayed the format change until may 1978 at which time general cinema converted the station to a top 40 format but decided not to change the call sign branding the operation as 99 we fm . morning shows were hosted by dan walker the illinois governor of rock and roll formerly of wdhf wmet 95 and joined by willak . afternoons featured cox on the radio . other disk jockeys during the top 40 era included john calhoun and ken cocker . the wefm call sign is now used on 95.9 fm in nearby michigan city indiana which also is imaged as we fm . us 99 edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message in the early 1981 wefm briefly flipped to a soft vocals format . in 1982 newly purchased by first media corporation wefm flipped to wusn us 99 . the initial promotion of the station s new interaction was that four songs would be played before any commercial break ensued and that 10 000 would be given to the first person to call if the guaranteed wasn t fulfilled . the first day on the air a disc jockey claimed to get his carts mixed up and only played three . a check was cut for the lucky listener who called in first . within 48 hours another mistake was made and another 10 000 check was given away . it was in light of the continuing lapses of judgement that major changes were made in the staff . chief among them was first media s transfer of lee logan from kfmk in houston to chicago to take the helm as program director following a brief stint by dan walker . lee s first choice as morning man was don wade who featured the always opinionated character sheriff c.w. turnipseed and his ever present spittoon and don s wife whom he always referred to as the lovely roma jean . corporate management decided to bring in shock jock gary dee as the new morning man an experiment that met with limited success . under lee s leadership the station took on four country music competitors in chicago 670 wmaq 1160 wjjd flipped to music of your life in 1982 wjez 104.3 formerly wjjd fm which flipped to oldies as wjmk magic 104 in 1984 and then jack fm in 2005 and wkxk now wls fm . having taken us 99 to the top of the heap as the most listened to country station in the nation lee logan departed us 99 in 1987 for los angeles . wusn was owned for years by first media after it debuted in 1982 . in 1992 infinity broadcasting bought wusn . cbs bought infinity in 1997 making wusn a cbs owned station . since wmaq the current day wscr switched to talk in the mid 1980s and a short lived attempt at competition by wls fm in the mid 90s the station has not had serious chicagoland competition for the country format outside of fringe suburban signals such as crest hills licensed wccq which covers the southwest suburbs and valparaiso indiana licensed wlje serving mainly northwest indiana ; its current main competitor iheartmedia s webg 95.5 converted to the format only at the start of january 2015 . this has given it a domination and market force over one format rarely seen in the radio industry . on august 8 2016 wusn rebranded slightly as us 99 dropping the .5 from their moniker and unveiling a new logo and slogan chicago s hottest country . 2 the traditional star seen in their logo was changed in the new version to the six pointed variety represented in the acclaimed flag of chicago with the logo coloring following suit using the flag s light blue and red . controversy edit on april 13 2001 a memo from wusn management asked on air station employees to attend the george strait country music festival on may 26 2001 at their own expense 3 and work the crowd on behalf of the station was leaked to robert feder s media column for the chicago sun times . 4 on july 7 2003 country music radio personality cliff dumas sued infinity broadcasting corporation and wusn in united states district court seeking monetary damages . dumas alleged that station management had induced him to resign gainful employment at a new mexico radio station to take a job which was offered but then never materialized . 5 awards edit in 2006 wusn won cma country music association major market station of the year under the leadership of general manager dave robbins and program director mike peterson . in 2007 the station was nominated for the top 25 markets country music radio & records magazine station of the year award . other nominees included kygo fm denver wycd detroit keey fm minneapolis wxtu philadelphia and kson fm san diego . 6 in 2010 the station won country radio broadcasters country aircheck awards for station of the year for a major market ; the lisa dent and ramblin ray show for major market morning show and marci braun weeknight host md for major market md. 7 lisa dent and ramblin ray stevens won a country music association award for major market personality of the year at the 44th annual cma awards for the lisa dent and ramblin ray morning show . 8 references edit http hdradio.com station guides widget.php id 3 http www.allaccess.com net news archive story 156390 wusn is now chicago s hottest country radio ink magazine . radioink.com 2001 04 13 . retrieved on 2013 07 23 . us 99 penny pinching suggests scary trend robert feder chicago sun times april 13 2001 cliff dumas plaintiff appellant v. infinity broadcasting corporation and wusn fm defendants appellees . 416 f. 3d 671 federal circuits 7th cir . august 01 2005 docket number 04 1133 2007 industry achievement awards . radio and records . september 28 2008 . archived from the original on february 27 2008 . word on the street march 4 . march 4 2010 . word on the street nov. 24 . november 24 2010 . external links edit official website query the fcc s fm station database for wusn radio locator information on wusn query nielsen audio s fm station database for wusn guide of chicago country radio v t e radio stations in the chicago market by am frequency 560 6701 7201 750 7801 820 850 8901 930 950 10001 1030 1050 1080 1110 1160 1200 1220 1230 1240 1270 1300 1330 1340 1370 1390 1410 1420 1430 1450 1450 1490 1500 1500 1510 1530 1570 1590 1690 by fm frequency 87.72 88.1 88.1 88.1 88.1 88.1 88.1 88.1 88.1 88.3 88.3 88.3 88.3 88.5 88.5 88.7 88.7 88.7 88.7 88.9 88.9 89.1 89.1 89.3 89.3 89.5 89.7 90.1 90.5 90.7 90.7 90.9 91.5 91.7 91.9 92.3 92.5 92.7 93.1 93.5 93.9 94.3 94.7 95.1 95.5 95.9 95.9 96.3 96.7 96.7 96.9 97.1 97.5 97.9 98.3 98.3 98.7 99.5 99.9 99.9 100.3 100.7 100.7 101.1 101.9 102.3 102.3 102.7 103.1 103.1 103.5 103.9 103.9 103.9 104.3 104.7 105.1 105.5 105.5 105.9 106.3 106.7 107.1 107.1 107.5 107.9 noaa weather radio frequency 162.400 162.425 162.500 162.550 digital radio 780 1300 1390 1690 89.3 1 89.3 2 89.5 1 89.5 2 90.1 1 90.1 2 90.1 3 90.7 1 90.7 1 90.9 1 90.9 2 90.9 3 91.5 1 91.5 2 92.3 1 92.3 2 93.1 1 93.1 2 93.1 3 93.9 1 93.9 2 94.7 1 94.7 2 95.5 1 95.5 2 95.9 1 95.9 2 96.3 1 96.3 2 96.7 1 97.1 1 97.1 2 97.9 1 97.9 2 97.9 3 98.7 1 99.5 1 99.5 2 100.3 1 100.3 2 101.1 1 101.1 2 101.9 1 101.9 2 102.3 1 102.7 1 102.7 2 103.5 1 103.5 2 104.3 1 104.3 2 105.1 1 105.1 2 105.1 3 105.5 1 105.9 1 105.9 2 106.3 1 106.7 1 106.7 2 107.5 1 107.5 2 by callsign kwo39 kxi41 kxi58 kzz81 w219cd w244bq w248bb w264bf w280em waes wait wake wbbm1 wbbm fm wbeq wbew wbez wbgx wbmf wccq wcev wcfl wcfs fm wcgo wckg wclr wcpt wcpt fm wcpq wcpy wcrx wcsj fm wdcb wdgc fm wdrv wedc weef wefm webg werv fm wetn wfel lp wfmt wfxf wgci fm wgen fm wgn1 wgrb wgve fm wrme lp2 whfh whpk whsd wiil wiit wims wind wjch wjkl wjmk wjob wjol wkbm wkkc wkqx wkrs wksc fm wkta wley fm wlit fm wlje wlpr fm wls1 wls fm wlth wltl wlra wlip wlup fm wluw wmbi wmbi fm wmvp1 wndz wntd wnur fm wnvr wnwi wojo wonc wonu wpjx wpna wppn wpwx wrdz wrll wrmn wrlr lp wrse wrte wrtw wrto wrxq wsbc wscr1 wshe fm wspy fm wsrb wsri wssr wtmx wtzi wusn wvaz wviv fm wvix wvon wwca wwdv wwhn wwtg wxav wxlc wxrd wxrt wyca wyll wzrd wzsr wzvn internet stations wgn plus wgn.fm q101 chicago defunct stations wcfj wcfl wcgo wcrw wedc wenr wkkd wmaq wmcw wnib wrll satellite radio local traffic weather xm channel 217 sirius channel 151 nearby radio markets benton harbor st. joseph kankakee lasalle peru milwaukee racine rockford south bend see also list of radio stations in illinois list of radio stations in indiana 1 clear channel stations with extended