Feder: Will Mark Giangreco ever return to ABC 7?

It's been five weeks since Chicago's most prominent sports anchor was last seen on the city's top-rated television station, where he's been a fixture for 27 years, Robert Feder writes.

But the bosses of ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 have yet to explain or even acknowledge the absence of Mark Giangreco, leaving viewers in the dark and prompting co-workers to wonder if he'll ever return.

Calls and texts to Giangreco and his longtime agent, Joel Weisman, were met with the same "no comment" as those to John Idler, president and general manager of ABC 7, and his representatives. Crickets all around.

What's known for sure is that Giangreco, 68, made his last appearance on the air January 28. Except for a few random tweets, he hasn't been heard from since. He's also been missing as a contributor to Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman's afternoon show on Good Karma Brands ESPN sports/talk WMVP 1000-AM.

Whatever Giangreco said or did that night on "Eyewitness News" was deemed serious enough to silence him for the longest time in his four-decade run on Chicago TV. He still has 18 months left on a contract extension signed in 2019.

Get the full report, and more Chicago media news, at robertfeder.com.