Allison Payne

[15connects 4]

Does anybody know where she's been, I haven't seen her on the midday news lately.

[Jase 818]

She has been out sick for months and is not likely to return to WGN until her health improves.

[24994J 5276]

I'm going to put this in a sort-of timeline to make it a little easier to figure out:

 

During the Ron Santo funeral in December 2010, she was extremely emotional. At many times during the procession past Wrigley, she could be heard sobbing uncontrollably, which led to many awkward moments. After this, her journalistic credibility was put in question again, much like during her 2008 "drunken" newscasts. That instance was later revealed to have been a series of mini-strokes she had unknowingly suffered.

 

By January, she was nowhere to be found, as she had been off the air since before the holidays.

 

In February, it was announced that her co-anchor, Steve Sanders, would be having hip-replacement surgery (I think it was hip, maybe knee). This was the first time that her absence was really noticed, since she had been off for nearly two months, and Sanders would be off for 4-6 weeks. It was then revealed that she was having serious health issues again, possibly stroke-related, and that she was seeking treatment.

 

As March came, Sanders went on leave, and it leaked out that Payne would be coming in for 3 days of rehearsal newscasts. This move was considered unprecidented, for she would not be on-air, but conducting three 2-hour broadcasts with interim anchor Robert Jordan (he'd be putting in 4 hours a day). The first day came, and di not go well at all, and I don't even think they made it through the 2 hours. The next two rehearsals did not even happen, and nothing has been said since of the matter.

 

At this point, no one knows if she is going to come back at all. Here's hoping everything is getting better!