Bill Wheelhouse
The broadcast writing instructor for the PAR program is Bill Wheelhouse, general manager of WUIS/WIPA-FM, the Illinois Public Radio flagship station and local public radio affiliate.
Before assuming his current post in August, 2005, Wheelhouse served more than 10 years as Statehouse bureau chief for Illinois Public Radio and WUIS.
During his time in the Statehouse, Wheelhouse won several awards including Best Investigative Reporter from the Associated Press and Best Statehouse Beat Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors in 2004. He traveled to Cuba in 1999 with then Gov. George Ryan and provided coverage of that trip from Havana. He has covered national political conventions in 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004.
Before coming to WUIS/WIPA, he served eight years as news director of public radio station WIUM-FM in Macomb. While there, he won several AP awards in Iowa and Illinois. Wheelhouse also worked in radio and television in Quincy. He is a past president of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association.
A native of Rushville, Wheelhouse is a graduate of Western Illinois University and received a master’s degree in political studies from UIS.