Beloved Midwest radio and TV host dies by assisted suicide at Swiss clinic

A beloved Chicago radio host who spent years battling a debilitating neurological disorder has died by assisted suicide at a clinic in Switzerland.

WGN Radio host Judy Markey, 82, died ‘peacefully’ on September 11 with her family by her side, her co-host Kathy O’Malley has revealed. The name of the clinic was not revealed. 

Switzerland is home to two suicide clinics – Dignitas in Zurich which only accepts terminally ill patients and Pegasos in Basel, where any adult can choose to end their life.  

Markey’s body began failing shortly after she was diagnosed with an undisclosed neurological disorder in 2024, O’Malley said.

The journalist made the decision to end her life under Switzerland’s Medical Aid in Dying law not long after she received her diagnosis.

She made her choice after living a ‘full and rich lifetime’ in which she got ‘more from it than she ever imagined,’ Markey’s obituary states.

Markey was supported in her decision by both her family and friends, the tribute said.

According to O’Malley, the 82-year-old’s ‘resolve never wavered after she made the decision and chose a date.’ 

Markey and O’Malley co-hosted the top-rated Kathy and Judy Show on WGN-AM from 1989 to 2009, amassing a huge following of fans dubbed ‘the girlfriends.’

The pair’s daily morning show saw the duo chat openly with their audience about sex, marriage, raising kids, family fights and aging.

The show heavily relied on listeners phoning in to share personal stories and ask the hosts for advice. 

Politicians, authors and celebrities would frequent the show in an attempt to reach a ‘broad Chicago audience,’ Markey’s obituary said.

The duo even talked about their support for assisted suicide on the program, according to O’Malley, who described euthanasia as a ‘highly personal choice but one we felt should be available for those who chose it.’

Four years after the Kathy and Judy Show concluded its 20-year run, Markey and O’Malley brought the program back as a weekly Saturday morning show.

The program stopped being broadcast in 2017.

Markey was born in Ohio, but moved to Los Angeles with her parents and younger brother when she was 13.

She moved to Chicago as a high schooler to attend Northwestern Medill, an institution known for its journalism program.

But her exit from Beverly Hills High School was largely due to the fact that Northwestern did not have a foreign language requirement.

She was struggling with French and her teacher in LA warned her that ‘she’d never speak any foreign language,’ according to her obituary.

Markey went on to study journalism at Northwestern University and, after graduation, lived in New York City, Washington, DC and Evanston, Illinois with her first husband, Tom Markey.

They moved overseas for seven years, living in Rome, Paris and Amsterdam. During her time abroad, Markey reportedly mastered both Italian and later French.

She and Tom shared two children, Erin and Adam, together.

Although their youngest, Adam, was born in Europe, the couple predominately raised their family in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette.

Markey, while being a mother, was a columnist for Chicago Sun Times. She also wrote for The New York Times and Cosmopolitan Magazine, and authored multiple books.

In addition to her hosting popular radio program, Markey dabbled in local Chicago television in the 1990s.

She hosted a documentary-style show called Chicago Slices, which saw her highlight human interest stories around the city, and WPWR’s What the El, a show where she interviewed commuters riding public transit.

Her work in journalism saw her be inducted into Northwestern Medill’s Hall of Achievement.

She was also named one of Chicago’s One Hundred Most Influential Women by Crain’s Chicago Business and one of the Top One Hundred Talk Show Hosts in the US by Talkers magazine.

Markey married her current husband, Northwestern University professor Tom Collinger, in 2002.

She and Collinger spent time at a second home in Tucson, Arizona, traveled the world and cared for their two dogs, Willie and Toby.

She is survived by Collinger, her children, stepchildren and two granddaughters. 

‘She was a mother, a wife, and a friend to many,’ O’Malley wrote in her tribute.

‘She was a lover of beautiful flowers, a popular newspaper columnist, a voracious reader, a terrible driver, a talented novelist, a lover of cheese and good wine, an astute and hilarious observer of the human condition, a big fan of control, a cute dresser, and one of the few people who made me feel tall.’

Markey’s WGN co-worker Spike O’Dell also paid tribute to the late talk show host, describing her as ‘one of a kind.’

He said Markey was ‘very confident, spunky, and not afraid to tell you exactly what she thought.’ 

‘When WGN first paired Kathy and Judy together and put them on the air as an experiment, I remember telling some people, “nope…that’s never gonna work.” Man was I wrong! Really wrong thankfully!’ he wrote.

‘Kathy and Judy‘s radio audience was one of the most loyal audiences I have ever witnessed in my 33 years on the air.’