WCFL (104.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

FM radio station licensed to

Morris, Illinois Morris is a city in and the county seat of Grundy County, Illinois, Grundy County, Illinois, United States and part of the southwest Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 14,163 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A team of ...

, and serving the Western suburbs of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. It airs a

Christian adult contemporary Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC, CAC, or Christian Adult Contemporary Airplay, is a form of radio-played contemporary Christian music, ranging from 1960s Jesus music and 1970s Christian soft rock music to predominately ...

format and is owned by the

University of Northwestern – St. Paul The University of Northwestern – St. Paul (UNWSP) is a Private university, private Evangelical Christianity, evangelical Christian university in Roseville, Minnesota, United States. History The predecessor to the current university was fir ...

. WCFL

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

s the programming of WBGL in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

. It is listener-supported and holds periodic on-the-air

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

s to pay for station expenses. WCFL has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum for most stations in Illinois. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is off Stockdale Road in Morris.

History

WRMI, WCSJ-FM, WUEZ

The station was first licensed May 24, 1962.History Cards for WCFL
fcc.gov. Retrieved July 12, 2018. Its original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WRMI-FM, which stood for Radio Morris Illinois. It largely simulcast WCSJ (1550 AM), its

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, WRMI-FM and WCSJ had a middle of the road (MOR) format.
1972 Broadcasting Yearbook
',

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

, 1972. p. B-65. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1977
',

, 1977. p. C-65. Retrieved July 14, 2018. In 1977 the station's call sign was changed to WCSJ-FM to match 1550 AM; the two stations continued to simulcast.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1979
',

, 1979. p. C-68. Retrieved July 14, 2018. By 1983, the stations were airing a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-76. Retrieved July 14, 2018. In 1988, 104.7 FM separated its programming from 1550 AM and changed its call letters to WUEZ-FM. As WUEZ-FM, the station aired an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

format.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook '89
',

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...

, 1989. p. B-95. Retrieved July 14, 2018.Feder, Robert. "Radio's new WCFL will return to oldies". ''

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. April 16, 1990 The station was

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

, playing quarter-hour sweeps of mostly instrumental

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular adult songs along with some soft vocals.

WCFL

In 1990, the station changed its call sign to WCFL and adopted an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format with the branding "Super CFL". It used slogans and

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s which harkened back to the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

days of WCFL (1000 AM), when it was popular among teens. The original WCFL-FM air staff included Gary Rivers, Bob Zak, Tom Kapsalis, Don Beno, and Jeff Andrews. WCFL played the hits of 1965 to 1979, with the goal of capturing the sound of the original WCFL. The oldies format lasted until January 1994, when the station began simulcasting the soft AC programming of WCSJ. At that point, its owners were looking to sell WCFL.

Christian radio

In late 1993, the station was sold to the Illinois District Council of the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

. In February 1994, the station went silent while the sale was being finalized. WCFL adopted its present

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

format in May 1994. By 2003, the station was simulcasting WBGL full-time. In a complaint filed with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

in 2017, WCFL claimed that its signal has been subjected to co-channel interference from translator W284DA, which relays WRDZ. The translator is operated by Polnet Communications Ltd. of Chicago. In August 2019, the Illinois Bible Institute reached an agreement to sell the entire WBGL/WCIC New Life Media Network (including WCFL) to the

. The university owns and operates

Northwestern Media Northwestern Media is the Christian radio ministry of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, an evangelical university in Roseville, Minnesota. Northwestern Media operates three radio networks serving listeners primarily in the Midwestern U ...

, a network of

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

stations and another network of

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

stations. The sale price was $9,901,558.34.U. of Northwestern Buys 13 Stations From Illinois Bible Institute
, ''Inside Radio''. August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019. While the station remains Contemporary Christian, the format and programming are overseen by the University of Northwestern - St. Paul, based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

References

External links

91.7 WBGL
- official website
New Life Media network
- sister station info * {{coord, 41.3547541, -88.4986806, region:US-IL_source:FCC_type:landmark, display=title Assemblies of God Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States 1962 establishments in Illinois Radio stations established in 1962 Pentecostalism in the United States Northwestern Media CFL (FM)