Legendary Chicago traffic anchor retiring after 35 years

Chicagoland drivers are going to have to find their way through the city’s traffic snarls without a very familiar face.

Roz Varon, who has worked at ABC-owned WLS in Chicago for 35 years, is set to retire April 5, 2024, she announced on-air Feb. 21, 2024.

“Roz’s expertise and connection to our viewers are the reasons she has been our top traffic and transportation reporter for more than three decades,” said President and General Manager John Idler in a statement. “Chicagoans know they can count on Roz to avoid a jam. We applaud Roz as she puts an exclamation point on an outstanding career.”

Varon joined ABC 7 in 1989 at morning traffic reporter and later began covering transportation and special events for the station.

Her entry into the traffic beat made her one of the first traffic reporters in the country — and much of her work influenced how the beat evolved into what it is today.

A multiple-Emmy award winner, Varon was also an advocate for both animals and breast cancer prevention and survivors, being a Stage 4 survivor herself.

WLS did not announce who would replace Varon. 

Reporter and anchor Diane Pathieu would typically fill in when Varon was out, so she it could make her the natural choice for a replacement, having already been seen covering traffic and possessing knowledge of the city’s roadways and traffic reporting style.

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ABC 7 has been investing heavily in its morning newscasts, having transitioned former “Windy City Live” hosts Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini into a part of the team in recent years. The station also assigned Samantha Chatman to the show as a consumer reporter with regular appearances, but she is now a weekend anchor.

Meanwhile, crosstown rival WGN is bidding farewell to a legendary weather forecaster, Tom Skilling, Feb. 28, 2024.