Weigel began her professional career as an actress, appearing in productions at
The Second City Northwest, the Wisdom Bridge Theatre and the National Jewish Theater. She also performed voiceover work. In 1995, Weigel began working as a traffic reporter for
WMVP-AM and
WLUP-FM in Chicago. In 1997, she shifted to being solely a news anchor for
WMVP-AM, working alongside program hosts like
Danny Bonaduce and
Steve Cochran. From late 1997 until early 1999, she worked as an entertainment reporter for
WGN-TV in Chicago. In 1999, Weigel and her husband, Clay Champlin, began co-hosting a Saturday evening radio show on
WCKG-FM in Chicago. From 2002 to 2003, Weigel co-hosted a Saturday afternoon talk show on
WLS-AM in Chicago. She continues to occasionally work as a fill-in radio host on
WGN-AM in Chicago. In 1999, Weigel began working as a free-lance entertainment contributor for
WBBM-TV in Chicago. In 2000, she won the job on a full-time basis, and in 2001, she won a Chicago Emmy award for her feature reporting. In 2002, Weigel asked for an early release from her contract with the station after being reassigned to general news reporting duties. After that, Weigel did some freelance television reporting for
ABC News' Chicago bureau and did some commercial and voiceover work. She also formed her own production company, JCW Productions, in 2002. In 2005, Weigel began hosting and producing a weekly lifestyle magazine show on
WMAQ-TV in Chicago called
Taste. In 2007, Weigel published her first book,
Stay Tuned; Conversations With Dad From the Other Side, a book about her relationship with her late sportscaster father
Tim Weigel and her spiritual attempts to contact him after his death. The next year, Weigel adapted the book into a one-woman show called "I'm Spiritual, Dammit!" at the Viaduct Theatre in Chicago. Her second book, "I'm Spiritual, Dammit!" was published in October 2010, and is being published in German, French, Spanish and the United Kingdom. Weigel also has had several acting roles since beginning her television and radio career. In 1999, she played a television reporter in an episode of the series
Early Edition, and in 2001, she played a news anchorwoman in the
John Hughes movie
New Port South. She played a TV news reporter on
Chicago Fire in December 2014. In July 2018, Weigel was hired as the director of community development for the
Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. In March 2019, Weigel signed on as the cohost of
Mancow Muller's morning radio show on WLS-AM in Chicago. == Personal ==