WVLI (92.7 FM) "The Greatest Hits by The Greatest Artists" is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. The station is licensed to

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. Located on the Kankakee River, as of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley, IL MSA, Kan ...

, United States. During its days as WKIF, it also broadcast Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Notre Dame Football and other sporting events. WVLI is owned by Milner Media Partners, LLC.

History

WLRT

The station began broadcasting September 21, 1986, holding the call sign WLRT.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 300. The station aired a

lite rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

format. In 1993, the station adopted 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 and was branded "T93". In 1998, the station was sold to Big City Radio, which also purchased WCBR-FM in Arlington Heights (also on 92.7) at the same time. When Big City Radio took control of the two stations, they stunted with a simulcast of their

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

sister station 107.1 KLYY, which aired a

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

format. The station's call sign was changed to WBRO shortly thereafter.

92 Kiss FM

On November 14, 1998, at Noon, WBRO and WCBR launched their new format, CHR as "92.7 Kiss FM", with the first song being "

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

" by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Feder, Robert Robert Feder (born May 17, 1956) is an American media blogger who was the television and radio columnist for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1980 until 2008, a blogger for Vocalo.org from 2009 until 2010, and a blogger for ''Time Out Chicago'' fr ...

.
'Kiss FM' set to debut 'in your face' attitude
, ''

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 ...

''. November 12, 1998. Retrieved December 9, 2018.WCBR Becomes 92.7 Kiss FM
, ''Format Change Archive''. November 14, 1998. Retrieved December 9, 2018. In late December 1998, the station's call sign was changed to WKIF, while WCBR's call sign was changed to WKIE. Big City Radio also purchased WDEK 92.5 in

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,290 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the Ameri ...

, which was airing a locally programmed CHR format at the time, and switched it to a simulcast of WKIF and WKIE in early 1999. Not long after, the moniker was adjusted to "92 Kiss FM".

Melissa Forman Melissa Forman is an American television and radio personality. She grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, where she attended Glenbrook North High School. She went on to graduate college from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. In 2008 Mel ...

hosted mornings on 92 Kiss FM, before moving to 93.9

WLIT-FM WLIT-FM (93.9 MHz, "93.9 Lite FM") is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an Adult contemporary music, adult contemporary format. Its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex in the Chicago Loop, ...

in 2001. Rosenthal, Phil.
Melissa Forman out at WLIT-FM -- again
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. August 13, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2018.

Energy 92.7&5

On January 12, 2001, Clear Channel's WUBT changed formats from

rhythmic oldies Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. The playlists spans from the 1960s through the 2000s. They depend on market conditions and may be designed for African-American or Hispani ...

to CHR as

WKSC-FM WKSC-FM (103.5 MHz) – branded "103.5 Kiss FM" – is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Ch ...

"Kiss 103.5".M Street Bazaar... People, Products, and Programming
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 18, No. 03. January 17, 2001. p. 8. Retrieved December 9, 2018. At that time, Clear Channel filed suit against Big City Radio, alleging the " Kiss FM" branding used by WKIF and its simulcasts violated its national trademark.Ross, Sean
Shebel Energizes WKIE With Dance
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''. February 17, 2001. p. 63-64. Retrieved December 9, 2018. However, Big City Radio had already planned on changing the formats of these stations. On January 26, 2001, 92 Kiss-FM signed off, and the three stations adopted a

dance hits Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...

format as "Energy 92.7&5".Format Changes & Updates
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 18, No. 05. January 31, 2001. p. 1-2. Retrieved December 9, 2018. The station's airstaff remained intact. The new format was designed by 92 Kiss FM's program director, Chris Shebel, who has stated that the dance hits format is something he had dreamed of doing for a long time.

Onda 92

In late 2002, Big City Radio, became

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

and began the process of selling all of its radio stations. In early 2003, WKIF, WKIE, and WDEK were sold to

Spanish Broadcasting System Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS) is an American media company specializing in Spanish-speaking audiences. It is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet ...

for $22 million. On January 6, 2003, the three stations adopted a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

contemporary 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 ...

format as "Onda 92".
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004
',

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 ...

, 2003-2004. p. D-141. Retrieved December 9, 2018.

Newsweb ownership

In 2004, Spanish Broadcasting System sold WKIF, WKIE, and WDEK to

Newsweb Corporation Newsweb Corporation is a printer of ethnic and alternative newspapers in the United States, based in Chicago, Illinois. The company also owns AM 750 WNDZ. Newsweb was founded in 1971 by Chicago entrepreneur, political activist, and philanthropis ...

for $28 million.Lazaroff, Leon.
Democratic donor plans to purchase 3 stations
, ''

'', July 27, 2004. Retrieved December 9, 2018. WKIF was broken off the simulcast and became a full time affiliate of

CNN Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by CNN Worldwide, the network primarily carries true-crime programming, recently drifting away from limited live news programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982, by Tur ...

,Reasons To Be Cheerful Pt. III: 'JBTV'
, ''Illinois Entertainer''. January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2018. while WKIE and WDEK began simulcasting its new adult hits sister station 99.9 WRZA in

Park Forest, Illinois Park Forest is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small southern portion in Will County, Illinois, Will County. The village was originally designed by Loebl Schlossman & Hackl, Loebl Schlossman & ...

, as " Nine FM", with the slogan "We Play Anything".Kampert, Patrick.
Nine FM rolls out 'anything' format on 3 frequencies
, ''

'', December 2, 2004. Retrieved December 9, 2018. In October 2008, the Nine FM simulcast on WKIE, WDEK, and WRZA was replaced with progressive talk, but on December 19, 2008, Nine FM was brought back on WKIF.

The Valley

In 2012, the station was sold to Milner Broadcasting for $1 million. In August 2012, WKIF changed their format to oldies, simulcasting

WVLI WVLI (92.7 FM broadcasting, FM) "The Greatest Hits by The Greatest Artists" is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. The station is licensed to Kankakee, Illinois, United States. During its days as WKIF, it also broadcast Chicago ...

95.1 FM Kankakee, branded as "The Valley". On December 27, 2012, WVLI 95.1 (now WFAV) dropped the simulcast of 92.7 and made its anticipated switch to CHR simulcasting

WFAV WFAV (95.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Kankakee, Illinois. WFAV has a Contemporary hit radio format and is owned by Milner Media Partners. History The station was built by Dennis Baldridge and Richard Shelton, engineers at 89.7 WONU, a ...

103.7 in Gilman, Illinois. On December 29, 2012, WKIF and WVLI swapped call letters, putting WKIF on 95.1 and WVLI on 92.7. In 2018, Milner Broadcasting was sold to the newly formed Milner Media Partners. In late 2023, Tammy Sowder secretly replaced Tim Milner as President and General Manager of WVLI.

References

External links

* * {{Kankakee Radio 1986 establishments in the United States Classic hits radio stations in the United States Kankakee, Illinois Radio stations established in 1986

VLI Bauerfield International Airport () is an airport located in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The airport is relatively small in size, but its runway has the capability and length to accept jets up to the Airbus A330. It served as the hub for Vanuatu's flag ...