Jon Hansen has become a pillar in Chicago’s media world after producing and creating content across all the broadcasting and journalism fields in the Windy City. 

While wearing many hats as a broadcaster and announcer, Hansen has worked for WCIU-TV, WGN-AM, the Chicago Blackhawks, Block Club Chicago, DNAinfo, Total Traffic & Weather Network, as well as numerous other radio and TV stations.

Hansen has received multiple accolades, including an Emmy in 2021 for his work at WCIU and a Silver Dome in 2020. He will be inducted into the Illini Media 2022 Hall of Fame for his career at Illini Media and beyond. 

When he started at the University, Hansen never thought he would pursue a career in broadcasting. 

“I had worked at the high school radio station, but I honestly thought, ‘I’m not gonna be on TV,’” he said. “It just seemed like such a pipe dream.”

During his sophomore year, Hansen said a classmate of his encouraged him to join WPGU.

“The person who was supposed to do sports on WPGU the day I went wasn’t there,” he said. “They were like, ‘Go be the sportsperson.’ And I guess the rest is history.”

In 2004, Hansen became a reporter, anchor and fill-in DJ at WPGU and switched his studies to journalism in the College of Media. 

“I had a great experience at the College of Media with great professors, one of whom I’m being inducted into the Hall of Fame with, John Paul, but WPGU and Illini Media were everything,” he said. 

Hansen became news director in 2005 where he worked to further grow WPGU. 

Joe Lamberson, former managing editor for online and editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini and Program Director for WPGU, was brought into WPGU by Hansen himself. 

“He was a great recruiter for Illini Media because he took the time to find people right for the organization,” Lamberson said. “He was a person who worked hard to push you beyond the minimum that you could do.” 

Hansen returned to Illini Media as a reporter for The Daily Illini after studying abroad. In 2006, he became the convergence editor whose job it was to bring the WPGU and The Daily Illini newsrooms together. 

“His job was to get people thinking outside their comfort zones; print kids weren’t used to recording audio, and audio kids weren’t used to writing blurbs,” Lamberson said. “He was tasked with getting folks to break out some of the molds that they had in their own preconceived notion.”

After graduating from the University in 2006, Hansen officially became the operations manager of WPGU in 2007. 

“(WPGU) was like, ‘Do you want to stay?’ I didn’t even think about it,” Hansen said. “I was learning all these great things about running a radio station, but it was the community and company that was so great.”

Throughout his time at WPGU, Hansen described his attitude as “Let’s try it.”

He initiated multiple segments and events, such as tailgating at football games, hockey broadcasts on air and bar traffic reports when the “WPGU van drove around Green Street and went live on the air with the bar traffic report.”

Hansen said the launch of the Illini Media Hall of Fame was one of the best parts of his experience at WPGU. 

“I got to connect with so many alumni,” Hansen said. “I knew it was an opportunity. Getting to meet and get to know all these great WPGU and DI alumni ended up being the springboard for my entire career.”

Hansen was the master of ceremonies for the first Illini Media Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2006. He emceed the following three ceremonies. 

“I’ll never forget emceeing that first event because it showed me what was possible,” he said. “I’ll never forget Kit Donahue saying, ‘You’re going to be in this hall one day,’ and I still can’t believe that it’s happening.”

In 2010, Hansen left WPGU for Washington D.C. where he worked as a communications staffer in the U.S. Senate. 

Freelance and public address announcer Gene Honda has known Hansen since his own Hall of Fame induction in 2008. Honda recalled Hansen’s strong connection to Illini Media even after his departure. 

“He’s one of the people who stayed around afterwards to help hand off a lot of experiences to other people,” Honda said. “The value of that is immeasurable.” 

It wasn’t until he moved back to Chicago in 2011 that Hansen connected with Honda professionally. 

“He says, ‘By the way, I’m moving back to Chicago,’” Honda said. “And just by coincidence, the Blackhawks were looking for someone to back me up as an announcer. So I connected the two.”

For Hansen, his career with the Chicago Blackhawks became a full-circle moment for him as he would go to games with his dad.

“I used to pretend to be Gene Honda,” Hansen said. “And now, there I am doing it.”

Honda described Hansen as being someone who “steps in and he’s ready to go. And if not, he asked questions.”

To Hansen, taking a hold of professional experiences is a crucial part of working in media fields.

“Say yes to every opportunity,” he said. “That’s how you get ahead. You have to earn it and then do it well when you get those opportunities.”

Hansen is currently working for the Blackhawks, WCIU, WGN-AM and numerous other radio, TV, podcast and gameshow projects. 

Lamberson described Hansen as “the epitome of the Illini Media success story.”

“The first time I ever felt like myself was at the University and at WPGU,” Hansen said. “WPGU was home.”

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