Pat Cassidy

“By the dawn’s early light”

Pat Cassidy has been using that famous phrase from the National Anthem as his sign-on slogan for his more than 35 years of morning drive radio in Chicago. “In the wintertime ,” said Pat, ” it’s still quite dark when I first open my mouth at 5am, but we’ll get listener calls if I fail to say it. It’s just become a ritual and people tell me all the time they like hearing it”.

The veteran journalist and broadcaster as been co-anchoring mornings on WBBM Newsradio 780 since the summer of 2000, with a brief side trip to WLS Radio as a talk show host. “Talk radio was lots of fun, but my heart is reporting the news and that’s what I’ll be doing until I ride off in the sunset.” Prior to joining WBBM, you heard Pat every morning for 25 years at WMAQ (now WSCR). Pat was also heard on WBMX and WEXI in the Chicago suburbs starting in 1970, after attending Northern Illinois and Northwestern Universities and Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook.

Pat has won dozens of major news awards including The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award, National Headline Club, Peter Lisagor, National Press Club and many Associated Press and United Press awards for best newscast, best investigative report, best feature and best sports reporting.

Pat and his wife Debbie live in the suburbs. He loves playing golf, especially with his daughter Karen, reading, fishing, studying the Civil War, cooking, the Bears and the White Sox, spending time in the Galena, Illinois area and playing the card game Hearts.