Coroner Bids For 2 Radio Stations April 18, 1987|By Rob Karwath. Will County Coroner Robert Tezak, a multimillionaire businessman who is influential in county Republican politics, has applied to the Federal Communications Commission to buy Joliet`s two most popular radio stations, station officials said this week. Documents submitted to the FCC in Washington show that Tezak is the sole owner of Joliet Broadcasting Co. Inc., which has sought for months through its lawyers to buy WJOL-AM, rated No. 1 in the city, and WLLI-FM, rated No. 2. Tezak also is the sole officer of Joliet Broadcasting, which was formed earlier this year, his lawyers said Thursday. The Joliet stations, along with two stations in Topeka, Kan., were offered for sale last December by Harris Enterprises Inc., a Hutchinson, Kan., company that owns a chain of small newspapers and radio stations in the Midwest, California and Texas. Harris officials said Thursday that papers have been signed to sell WJOL and WLLI, along with Topeka stations KTOP-AM and KDVV-FM, to Joliet Broadcasting for $4.6 million. The sale is contingent on FCC approval of the transfer of the stations` broadcast licenses. Officials of WJOL and WLLI said the secrecy with which Tezak cloaked his negotiations was odd. ``It was very unusual,`` said Bill Hansen, general manager of both stations. ``Usually the principals would be well-known and would have come into the station and told us that they planned no changes. ``When that doesn`t happen, you wonder whether they`re going to clean out the staff. But I don`t think that`s going to happen here.`` Tezak was out of town and was not available for comment on the sale, a coroner`s office spokeswoman said. Peer Pedersen, of the Chicago law firm of Pedersen & Houpt, which represented Tezak in the sale, said Tezak made ``a business decision`` to remain anonymous in the transaction until the end. Tezak was required to report his 100 percent interest in Joliet Broadcasting to the FCC when the agency began its scrutiny of the sale. The FCC reviews all transfers of broadcast licenses. Pedersen said he does not expect Tezak to make significant changes at any of the stations. Arbitron and ``any other rating service you pick`` ranks WJOL and WLLI as Joliet`s No. 1 and No. 2 stations, said Hansen, who plans to leave the station to manage two stations in Morris, Ill., in which he holds 40 percent interest. Tezak, 39, considered by many to be the most powerful Republican in staunchly Republican Will County, has been county coroner since 1976.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 00:40:44 +0000