Loss of federal funding will hit DuPage public radio station — but experts say it’s in a better position than many others

The loss of federal funding for public radio and television stations will cost the Glen Ellyn-based WDCB 90.9-FM roughly $140,000.

“It is certainly a significant funding source for us that we do not want to lose,” station manager Dan Bindert said.

But he acknowledges the College of DuPage-owned station, which focuses on jazz, is able to weather the loss better than many other stations facing cuts from President Donald Trump’s Rescissions Act of 2025, which eliminated money that was to be sent to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for two years. The cuts take effect Oct. 1.

Federally required reports indicate that WDCB in Glen Ellyn and WBEZ in Chicago receive a relatively low percentage of their budgets from community service grants and other federal funds, which account for 6% to 8%.

Radio stations in less populated areas, including the Quad Cities and southern Illinois, rely more on those funds.

“Compared to a lot of other states, Illinois is not as in bad a shape as some others,” said Tim Franklin, senior associate dean at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and director of the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern.

“There are some states where public radio stations are getting 40%, 50%, even up to 90% of their total budgets from federal funding,” Franklin said. “And the Illinois stations, by and large, are not that tied to federal funding.”

‘A hurricane’

Under a Congressional charter given in 1967, the nonprofit Corporation for Public Broadcasting is responsible for distributing federal funds to public television and radio stations.

“Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse and innovative news options. Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence,” Trump said in an April statement titled “The NPR, PBS Grift Has Ripped Us Off for Too Long.”

In Illinois, community service grants from CPB make up anywhere from 4% to roughly 20% of the revenues of individual stations, according to Heather Norman, president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council, a state-created corporation that oversees grants to public radio and television stations.

TriStates Public Radio in the Quad Cities, where Norman is general manager, receives 17% of its funding from federal grants.

But in more remote areas, such as the Aleutian Islands in Alaska or on tribal lands, the grants may be 100% of their funding, Norman said.

“It's like we have been in a hurricane,” she said of the Illinois stations, evaluating the damage in the aftermath of the federal funding shut-off and figuring out what to do and how to help each other.

They also worry about other things the CPB pays for, such as music licensing. CPB purchases a blanket license that covers all stations, she said.

In addition, the CPB supports the Public Radio Satellite System, which radio stations use to send and receive programming, including live NPR broadcasts. NPR runs the system.

WBEZ, which is owned by the nonprofit Chicago Public Media, was expected to receive $2 million in direct support and $1 million in indirect support in fiscal year 2026.

“We saw this as a real possibility and planned for it in our FY26 budget, so there are no immediate changes to our programming or staffing,” said Victor Lim, the vice president of marketing and communications. “What happens beyond this year is still uncertain.

“That is why it is so important we keep moving forward, doing the work to transform our organization and build something stronger and more sustainable,” Lim added.

Local vs. national

Bindert described WDCB’s finances as stable. “We’ve gotten WDCB to a good place in the last five years,” he said.

The station ended the fiscal year in June with a surplus of about $70,000, and it has some reserves, he said.

Donations from listeners, about $1 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, account for 68% of its $1.58 million in revenue, he said. Other sources of revenue included a $20,000 grant from the Illinois Arts Council, sponsorships, renting space on its tower for cellphone antennas, bequests from individual donors and fundraising events.

Its FCC license classifies it as a noncommercial station, meaning it can’t run ads.

WDCB emphasizes music. The focus is on jazz, but the station also runs programs devoted to blues, Americana, roots rock and Celtic music.

“We exist to fill gaps that aren’t being served in the (Chicago) market,” Bindert said.

In other parts of the country, however, listeners rely on public radio for their news.

Some stations will need to make cuts. That will mean in some areas, there will be fewer journalists covering their communities.

“And this happens at a time when the nation is already in the midst of a local news crisis,” Franklin said.

He said some experts estimate that 10% to 20% of stations will close as a result of the defunding, noting there are seven counties in the U.S. where public radio is the only source of local news.

“So I would be surprised if we don't have additional news deserts as a result of this defunding,” he said.

· Daily Herald reporter Katlyn Smith contributed to this report.