Chicago's political talk show icon Bruce DuMont bids farewell to "Beyond the Beltway"

What they're saying: "Given my recent health decline, it has become more difficult to get prepared and provide the energy needed to do the program each week," DuMont tells Axios.

• "I want to go out while I still have my interviewing skills and not making numerous mistakes on the air."

Backstory: DuMont says the show started as an experiment at WBEZ in 1980. It was only supposed to run for 13 weeks, but then station manager Carol Nolan extended it due to popular demand.

• In 1989, DuMont struck a deal to syndicate the show nationally and started videotaping the show for air as well.
• DuMont moved from WBEZ studios and began producing the show from the Museum of Broadcast Communications, which DuMont ran up until 2017.
• Today, the show is produced remotely, still broadcasting to over 20 terrestrial radio stations across the country, plus DuMont's digital channels.

The intrigue: The show has featured pundits, reporters and analysts who don't cover the beat in Washington D.C., giving it distance from the capitol while talking about national politics.

• It found a home in conservative radio circles. It has aired on several AM radio stations in Chicago, including its current home at WIND-AM.

Between the lines: DuMont has played a major role in Chicago's media history. He started producing radio shows in the late '60s and was instrumental in getting the broadcast museum to move into its State Street space, which has since closed.

What's next: Beyond the Beltway's last show is 6pm Sunday.