The Bob Crawford Audio Archive consists of audio clips from Bob Crawford's news programs on WBBM radio and from the show "At Issue," which Crawford hosted.
The audio spans span almost thirty years of Chicago political history, roughly from about 1968 to 2001. The collection includes interviews and audio clips with Chicago mayors Richard J. Daley, Michael Bilandic, Jane Byrne, Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer, and Richard M. Daley. It also includes interviews and audio clips with a number of other local, state, and national political figures.
Many of the descriptions of the audio clips were written by Bob Crawford, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Illinois Chicago Library.
Use of the Bob Crawford collection is limited to UIC students, faculty and staff, and to on-campus visitors. You can use the Login link at the top of this screen to sign in with your UIC NetID. Visitors can use the collection on campus in the Library's Special Collections and University Archives reading rooms.
Bob Crawford (Robert P. Crawford) covered Chicago politics for local radio station WBBM-AM for over forty years. Crawford attended the University of Illinois, and earned his journalism degree in 1959. He began his work in the broadcast industry working for WILL, WPGU Radio and WCIA-TV. He began working for WBBM in 1968, and remained there until 2001. He is perhaps best known for WBBM's public affairs program "At Issue." He recieved a number of awards during his career, including being inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 1995.
As WBBM's political editor and Chicago City Hall reporter, Crawford's coverage of Chicago politics spanned six mayoral administrations and included the many achievements and scandals of Chicago's City Council. He also covered a number of national stories, including a stint with CBS in 1980 covering the end of the Iranian hostage crisis and the transition between the Carter and Reagan administrations. Even after his retirement, Crawford continues to appear on the local media, providing local political analysis for outlets including WBBM, Chicago Public Radio, and WTTW.Scope and Contents
The digitized material available here is from Series 1 of the Bob Crawford Collection