Commentary: Remembering Bill Jurek

This past weekend, members of The Chicago Lighthouse family were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Jurek, director emeritus of The Lighthouse’s CRIS Radio. CRIS Radio is the oldest and largest reading and information service in Illinois for people with visual impairments or who have other disabilities, and broadcasts programming specifically targeted to these communities. Bill, who was himself totally blind, had been the station’s director since 2006. He was also the host of The Beacon, the country’s only advocacy radio show recorded for and by people with disabilities. Prior to joining The Lighthouse, Bill worked for many radio and television stations, including WLIT-FM, WGN, WIND, WLS-AM and NBC. He was also the voice talent for numerous companies. Bill lost his vision in 1995, and was a strong mentor and advocate for people with vision loss, especially those interested in the broadcast journalism field.

I first met Bill nearly four years ago, when I was looking for a job after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. My supervisor at the organization I was interning for at the time suggested I contact Bill Jurek. After all, Bill was also blind, and it wouldn’t hurt to ask him for some words of advice for my future career. Bill’s reply to my email was completely unexpected! He told me CRIS Radio could possibly offer me an internship, and asked me to call him right away. I began my internship with the station a few months later, where I helped schedule and record interviews for The Beacon. Little did I know that this internship would help launch my future career as a journalist! I now work full-time at The Lighthouse, both as an associate producer for CRIS Radio and development assistant.

I will always remember Bill’s kindness and great sense of humor. Ever since our first conversation over the phone, I could immediately tell he was a friendly and caring individual. I will always treasure the wonderful and fun memories of working with him. Whether discussing future segments for The Beacon, or recording the show, our conversations would inevitably turn into talking about food, some of the funny or embarrassing experiences we encountered as people who are blind or other random musings! I could always count on Bill to learn about good restaurants or other places I might want to check out.

The Sandy’s View team and The Chicago Lighthouse extend our deepest condolences to Bill Jurek’s family, friends and colleagues. We all lost a great friend and mentor who will always be remembered. Bill’s services will take place this upcoming Saturday, September 9. For more information and to read more about Bill’s work with CRIS Radio, please visit this page. Thank you Bill for being a great friend and mentor. Most importantly, thank you for giving me an opportunity and opening the path to a wonderful career for myself and countless others. The following is a video Bill and I recorded nearly two years ago for the Chicago Community Trust, where we talk about CRIS Radio, and the high unemployment rate faced by individuals with vision loss.