Jim Williams, Marie Saavedra To Lead CBS 2 News Chicago's New 4 p.m. Newscast

CHICAGO (CBS) -- CBS 2 News Chicago today announced the anchor lineup for its new 4 p.m. newscast, launching in January, 2022.

Here is the note to staff from President/General Manager Jennifer Lyons and Vice President/News Director Jeff Harris:

Jennifer and I are excited to announce the appointment of Jim Williams and Marie Saavedra as anchors of our new 4pm newscast – launching January 24, 2022.

We're also thrilled to announce Dana Kozlov as our new weekend evening anchor beginning in February 2022.

Jim Williams is one of Chicago's most revered journalists with more than 40 years of experience in the broadcast industry. He has served was a network correspondent and has been anchoring and reporting for us at CBS 2 Chicago since 2002. Jim's ability to produce grass-roots, embedded journalism in all of our communities is unparalleled. This deep understanding of Chicagoans informs his anchoring and reporting and as he takes on this new role, he will continue bringing to light the impactful stories that capture the spirit of our community. As many of you know, Jim was born and raised on Chicago's South Side and is a graduate of Kenwood High School and Columbia College.

A native of Evanston, Marie Saavedra arrived here at CBS 2 last year and has proven to be an exceptional storyteller and has helped to fill in on the anchor desk for any and all dayparts. For seven years, Marie anchored weekends at WFAA in Dallas and prior to that, she was weekend anchor at KTVK in Phoenix and anchor/reporter at KYTV in Springfield, MO. She is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism and an active member of NAHJ.

Jim and Marie will be joined by meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist and Sports Director Marshall Harris to fill out the 4p team. Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon will take over the weather duties in the 5p.

Dana is one of Chicago's premier storytellers and has been reporting on the city's most important events since 1995. Dana joined us here at CBS 2 in 2003 and most recently has been on our investigative team rooting out political corruption. Much of Dana's reporting has focused on the critical issue of domestic violence and she's served on the board of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network. A native of Palatine and graduate of Fremd High School, she received her communications degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Please join me in welcoming together this great group as we move forward into a successful 2022!