WGN-Ch. 9 and WGN-AM anchor Erik Runge and his wife, WLS-AM program director Stephanie Tichenor, in April paid $720,000 for a two-story house in Bucktown and sold their three-bedroom duplex penthouse condominium in North Center on the same day for $560,000.
Runge, 46, joined Channel 9 as a reporter in 2013, and he has been a WGN-AM news anchor and fill-in host since 2017. Tichenor joined WLS in 2019 after 11 years at WGN-AM.
In North Center, Runge and Tichenor paid $470,000 in 2020 for the duplex penthouse condo. The unit has two bathrooms, two-story windows, a vaulted living room with a fireplace and custom roller shades, a primary bedroom suite with double sinks in the bathroom, and a kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a breakfast bar.
The couple listed their condo on March 9 for $565,000, and they found a buyer just two days later.
Meanwhile, in Bucktown, Runge and Tichenor’s new four-bedroom house was built in 1903 and has 3 ½ bathrooms, a living room with a fireplace and a bay window, and a kitchen with quartz countertops, a new sink and backsplash, refinished cabinets, a large breakfast bar, stainless steel appliances and new floors. Other features include a recently remodeled powder room, a remodeled basement with a bar area, a stairway with new steel railings, and a primary bedroom suite with dual closets and an en suite bathroom with black and white finishes and a walk-in shower.
The house that Runge and Tichenor bought had been listed in March for $699,000, and the couple went under contract to buy it just three days after it went on the market.
Runge did not respond to a request for comment. However, Lauren Dayton of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, who represented the couple both in their sale and in their purchase, told Elite Street that her clients received multiple offers for their duplex penthouse condo.
“It had soaring ceilings in the living room, and great outdoor spaces with a front deck and a back deck,” she said. “It was a beautiful property — absolutely stunning, and the location is A-plus. But you can understand that as a family with children, they were ready for a house, and to be closer to the ground with less stairs.”
The couple’s new house had a $6,389 property tax bill in 2021. The condo that they sold had a $9,250 property tax bill in 2021.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.
