ABC7 Chicago Anchor/Reporter Alan Krashesky announces his retirement after 40-year career

CHICAGO -- ABC7 Chicago's Veteran Anchor/Reporter Alan Krashesky, anchor of the station's top-rated newscasts at 5, 6 and 10 P.M. and reporter covering major stories locally and around the globe, has announced his retirement. On Tuesday, November 22, Krashesky will anchor his final newscasts.

Krashesky began his career at ABC 7 as a general assignment reporter on October 4,1982 and is announcing his retirement 40 years later on the same date. He has the distinction of being ABC 7's first morning news anchor. Since then, every newscast he has anchored has consistently been rated No. 1.

"This job is the fulfillment of the dream I had when I first walked in the door at WLS-TV 40 years ago at the age of 21," Krashesky said. "Over the past four decades, I've been incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside some of the best broadcast journalists in the business - and I'm honored that the people of the Chicago area chose to trust us and welcome us into their homes."

According to John Idler, President & General Manager, ABC 7 Chicago, "Alan Krashesky's career is a template for any aspiring journalist. His professionalism, skill as an anchor and fairness as a reporter has earned not only countless awards but the respect of our viewers and his ABC 7 colleagues. We thank him for a remarkable career and wish him nothing but the best. He will be missed by all."

Jennifer Graves, Vice President of News, ABC 7 Chicago said, "Alan Krashesky represents the best of Chicago journalism. He approaches every newscast and story with integrity, class and humility. And there's no one more trusted when the big stories break. Alan retires knowing he has the admiration and affection of our viewers and his ABC 7 family. There's no better legacy than that."

Krashesky's work has been honored with numerous awards including Chicago Midwest Emmys and a Peter Lisagor Award. His acclaimed reporting has taken him to Rome to cover the historic moments of three popes and to Poland where he documented Auschwitz survivor and President of the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Fritzie Fritzshall's, emotional return to the camp.

Early in his career, Krashesky served as a news reporter and weathercaster for KTBC-TV in Austin, Texas. He also worked on-air in news, weather and sports at WBNG-TV in Binghamton, NY. He gained his first broadcasting experience in college, when he was a news anchor on WICB-FM radio in Ithaca, New York.

Krashesky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but attended the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a residential school for children with financial and social need. The school honored him as Alumnus of the Year in 2005. He graduated with honors from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications Management. Ithaca named him their Outstanding Young Alumnus in 1992.

He and his wife, Colleen, have three adult children and three grandchildren.

About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago

ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.6 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, ABC 7 Eyewitness News produces "Chicago Proud," a series of features that spotlights everyday heroes in and around Chicago. The station also produces the highest-rated New Year's Eve special in Chicago, holiday kickoff special "The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival," syndicated to a national audience, as well as the award-winning program series "Our Chicago," which showcases the city's diversity and highlights contributions in the Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+ communities, among others. Every Friday, Windy City Weekend entertains while giving Chicagoans everything they need to know about what's happening in the city. ABC 7 is the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives, one of the biggest one-day drives in the country and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.