WGN Radio won in three categories at the 2025 Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA) Silver Dome Awards, including two honors for the WGN Radio newsroom. The awards, which recognize the top-tier in Illinois broadcasting were announced on November 6 at a reception held at the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago.

WGN Radio received the following Silver Dome Awards:

• Best Continuing Coverage – “Trial of Michael Madigan” | Credit: WGN Radio

• Best Feature – “Chicago Teachers Told to Pass Migrant Students” | Credit: Sylvia Snowden, Ryan Burrow 

• Best Radio Personality – John Williams | Credit: John Williams

IBA also recognized Dave Eanet, whose two stints on WGN Radio encompass more than 30 years, with the 2025 Chicago/W. Russell Withers Jr. Broadcast Pioneer Award. Eanet is the voice of Northwestern Wildcat football and men’s basketball, as well as serving as a fill-in anchor on the WGN-TV sports desk.  He is a respected voice in college athletics and has been synonymous with Northwestern football radio broadcasts since 1990. The award is named after the late W. Russell Withers Jr, founding father of the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation.

The Northwestern University alum first joined WGN Radio in 1984 as the morning sports anchor and was part of the Chicago Bears WGN Radio team until leaving in 1988. He returned to the station in 1996 as sports director when WGN Radio became the rightsholder for Northwestern University Athletics and Eanet added men’s basketball play-by-play to his resume. Eanet also filled in on play-by-play for Chicago Cubs broadcasts on WGN Radio in the late 1990s through early 2000s.

Eanet has consistently earned recognition throughout his career, receiving multiple honors as a leading sportscaster and for excellence in play-by-play from the Illinois Broadcasters Association, Chicago Headline Club and Associated Press. He was named a 2005 honorary inductee into the Northwestern University Athletics Hall of Fame and the 2011 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

The event also featured the induction of Pat Hughes into the Illinois Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Hughes has been the radio voice of the Chicago Cubs since 1996, including 18 years on WGN Radio.