Chicago radio legend Eddie Schwartz dies at 62

Longtime radio personality and former syndicated columnist Eddie Schwartz has died at the age of 62.

Schwartz, a native of Chicago, passed away at a nursing home in Waukegan, Lake County coroner officials confirmed Wednesday morning.

According to published reports, Schwartz attended Columbia College in Chicago before getting on the air at WLS-AM in 1973.

During his programs, Schwartz led discussions on local issues and invited listeners to call in with their problems. He frequently telephoned elected officials in the middle of the night to inform them of listener complaints, and held open forums on racism, poverty and health care.

Schwartz moved his program to WGN in 1982, and his show reached 380,000 listeners a week before he departed for WLUP in 1992.

He walked away from WLUP in 1995 and became a syndicated columnist for Lerner Newspapers.

According to reports, Schwartz was diagnosed with renal failure in 2005 and has been fighting kidney- and heart-related issues ever since.