John Kass

John Kass
Born (1956-06-25) June 25, 1956 (age 68)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationColumnist and editorial board member
Spouse
Betty Castela
​
(m. 1986)​
Children2

John Kass (born June 25, 1956) is an American columnist and former editorial board member for the Chicago Tribune and radio broadcaster.[1] Until summer 2020, his opinion pieces regularly appeared on page 2 of the main news section of the Tribune, instead of on the opinion/editorial pages;[2][3] this is the spot formerly occupied by Mike Royko.[4][5]

Early life and education

His Tribune biography reports Kass as the son of a Greek immigrant grocer. Kass was born on the South Side of Chicago, and grew up there and in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn. He graduated from Harold L. Richards High School in the class of 1974, and was a member of the varsity football team and the yearbook staff.[6] He studied film at Columbia College in Chicago and worked on the student newspaper, though he never graduated.

Career

Kass worked as an intern and later a reporter at the Daily Calumet, and worked from 1980 to June 2021 for the Tribune.[7] He regularly covered political topics for the newspaper.[8] His columns are syndicated by Tribune Content Agency.[9] Kass also writes about lighter topics, particularly beer can chicken.

Kass hosted, first with Jake Hartford and later Lauren Cohn, a weekday morning talk-radio program on Cumulus Media-owned WLS-AM. His last show was February 26, 2015.

In June 2021, Kass took the buyout offer at the Chicago Tribune, after 38 years at the paper.[10]

Family

Kass married Betty Castela in Oak Lawn's St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in 1986.[11] They have twin sons[12] and currently live in Saint John, Indiana.[13]

References

  1. ^ "John Kass Columns - Chicago Tribune". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  2. ^ "Why is John Kass on A2 of the Chicago Tribune?".
  3. ^ "John Kass, Chicago Tribune's gossip columnist says he's is not a hater; he's a loather. Huh?". 2016-07-08.
  4. ^ "20 years without the legendary Mike Royko". Chicago Tribune. 15 April 2017.
  5. ^ "John Kass, columnist and editorial board member". Chicago Tribune. 3 June 2019.
  6. ^ https://www.olpl.org/documents/GoldenYear1974.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ "Chicago Tribune's John Kass to talk politics over breakfast at Elmhurst College". My Suburban Life. December 19, 2012.
  8. ^ "Statement of principles". Chicago Tribune. 23 February 2016.
  9. ^ "John Kass articles". Tribune Content Agency. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  10. ^ "John Kass signs off at Chicago Tribune: 'An adventure happens' - Robert Feder". www.robertfeder.com. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  11. ^ "After 30 years, it's good to be married". Chicago Tribune. 27 May 2016.
  12. ^ "John kass - Baltimore Sun". 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  13. ^ "John S Kass living in Saint John, IN Contact Details". SearchPeopleFREE. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
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