WCCO Radio (AM 830) afternoon host John Williams is getting more neighborly with his Twin Cities listener base, moving from Chicago and leaving his radio gig in that city, the stations announced.

Since April 2010, Williams had been hosting his WCCO show from the studios of WGN Radio (AM 720), where he also has been doing a noon-3 p.m. program.

Starting Jan. 2, he'll be positioned behind the WCCO microphone in downtown Minneapolis from 3-6 p.m.

Williams, 53, is in his second stint at WCCO. He was WCCO's midday host from 1993-97, then left for WGN in his native Chicago.

"We look forward to having him in our hallways and contributing even more to our community," Mick Anselmo, WCCO's senior vice president, said in a statement released Wednesday.

Williams said in the same release that he and his family are "anxious to make Minnesota our home again. I've had a dual personality for 2 1/2 years, and I want to focus on doing the best possible radio I can at WCCO."

In a note to his WGN colleagues, Williams said Tuesday: "I decided some time ago to do just one show -- as well as I can -- and that one will be at WCCO. Both stations and staffs deserve as much."

John and Brenda Williams are the parents of two adult sons, one of whom attends the University of Minnesota.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482