WCPT (820 AM) is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to Willow Springs, Illinois. Owned by the Newsweb Corporation, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area. The studios and daytime transmitter are located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side, while the nighttime transmitter resides in Joliet. WCPT is the Chicago affiliate for The Stephanie Miller Show, The Thom Hartmann Program, The Rick Ungar Show, The David Pakman Show, The Randi Rhodes Show and Democracy Now. It is also the radio home of Santita Jackson, Joan Esposito and Patti Vasquez. History WCBD On June 23, 1923, the station signed on using the call sign WCBD, broadcasting at 870 kilocycles. The station was located in Zion, Illinois, and was owned by Wilbur Glenn Voliva, who was the "General Overseer" of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, and was known for his flat Earth beliefs. WCBD was non-commercial, airing religious programming that reflected Voliva's viewpoints, along with vocal and instrumental music. The station originally ran at 500 watts. On February 2, 1925, its power was increased to 5,000 watts. From April 1924 until November 11, 1928, WCBD shared time on its frequency with WLS. In November 1928, its frequency was changed to 1080 kHz, where it shared time with WMBI. Both WCBD and WMBI were restricted to daytime operations to protect WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1934, WCBD's studios were moved to the Karcher Hotel in Waukegan, Illinois, and Gene T. Dyer was appointed station director. The station began to air some Italian language programming. In 1936, the station was sold to Gene T. Dyer and its studios were moved to the Guyon Paradise Ballroom in Chicago. It became a commercial operation, and aired religious, ethnic, and music programming. On April 2, 1937, the station's transmitter and the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church's Shiloh Tabernacle were destroyed in a fire set by a teenager who believed Voliva had swindled his father. Its transmitter site was relocated to Addison Township, in what today is part of Elmhurst, Illinois, and its studios were moved to 2400 W. Madison in Chicago. WCBD shared WMBI's transmitter while its new transmitter was being built. In 1940, Voliva filed suit against WCBD, alleging that the station's insistence that he provide scripts of speeches violated the terms of his contract, which allowed him to speak on the station without censorship. Dyer stated that the requirement was necessary