Jerry Taft

Jerry Taft (born March 14, 1943)[1] is a retired meteorologist who served as chief meteorologist for WLS-TV in Chicago.

Jerry Taft
Born (1943-03-14) March 14, 1943
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Years active1976-2018

A veteran of the United States Air Force, Taft earned a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[2]

Taft first joined ABC 7 in August 1984 after 7 years at WMAQ-TV, Chicago's NBC affiliate. Prior to moving to Chicago, he worked at KMOL-TV (now WOAI-TV), the NBC affiliate in San Antonio, Texas.

Taft has also performed radio work, providing weather reports for WMAQ-AM and WLS-AM in the 1980s.[3]

The Chicago Tribune has described Taft as "one of [their] favorite weathermen".[4] He finished second to WBBM-TV's Steve Baskerville and ahead of Tom Skilling in a 1997 Chicago Sun-Times reader poll about Chicago meteorologists. Participants noted Taft's "no-nonsense delivery".[5]

On December 20, 2017, ABC 7 Chicago announced that Taft would retire in January, 2018. Taft's last day on air, after forecasting weather on Chicago television for 42 years, was Friday, January 19, 2018.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Taft moved to Naples, Florida after his retirement with ABC 7 Chicago and now works as a part-time Uber driver. He earned $84.61 on his very first day.[6]

References
  1. Foster, Stella (March 12, 2009). "Dr. Phil helps Octomom". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 22.
  2. "Familiar faces". Daily Herald. March 21, 2001. p. 5.
  3. Feder, Robert (April 23, 1987). "Ch. 7's Deshler, Taft to forecast for radio". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 74.
  4. Bannon, Tim (December 1, 2007). "One fine day". Chicago Tribune. p. Weekend, 1.
  5. "Weather Forecaster". Chicago Sun-Times. August 17, 1997. p. 14.
  6. "New job title for ex-weatherman Jerry Taft: Uber driver". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
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