More than three years after he joined WLS-AM and the Roe Conn Show, veteran comedian and broadcast personality exited the station on Friday. According to reports, his contract was up, and the station decided not to renew his deal.

When he joined WLS in 2005, critics immediately compared Leff to Garry Meier. A year earlier, Meier walked away from a reported seven-figure deal to stay with the station and longtime partner Roe Conn.

Leff never really replaced Meier, in the sense that he was a full partner with Conn. After all, the show remained “The Roe Conn Show.” Leff was able to add comedic relief to a show that had become pretty pedestian upon Meier’s departure. Conn was trying to do too much on his own, supported by funny but one-dimensional newsman Jim Johnson and the vacuous Christina Filiaggi. However, because Leff was never treated by Conn and the others with the same level of respect as Meier was, the show quickly became a cluttered gabfest with Leff, Johnson, and Filiaggi all jockeying for mic time with Conn and each other. In the end, the show never seemed to regain the momentum it had during the heydays of Conn and Meier.

Too often, Leff would fade into the background during interviews with serious newsmakers or conversations about weightier issues. His previous experience at the Loop, Q101, and the Mix made him likeable but never seemed to establish the gravitas that Conn and Meier possess.

Leff’s departure comes about a month after Filiaggi was forced out to make way for the arrival of Amy Jacobson. About the same time, Conn’s show was reduced from five hours to four. It had expanded to five hours in early 2006.

According to Rosenthal’s report, WLS GM Mike Fowler attributed Leff’s ouster as a purely cost-cutting measure: “I really enjoyed having Bill here. He’s a true professional. I wish him well. But this was a case of downsizing.”

This move is just the latest in a series of substantive changes that the news/talk station has undergone in the last year. It began with the arrival of Pat Cassidy from WBBM-AM late last summer. After bouncing around several different shifts, the veteran newsman was paired with shock jock Erich “Mancow” Muller. The duo then replaced conservative firebrand Jerry Agar in November of last year. Several weeks later, WLS PD Kipper McGee exited the station, to be replaced by WGN PD Bob Shomper.

It’s clear that WLS is under increasing pressure from its parent company Citadel Broadcasting to cut costs any way they can. The trimming of Filiaggi and Leff from Conn’s show brings the show into line with other shows on the station that empoy a duo rather than an ensemble cast.

There’s been no word from Leff where he might land next. During this farewell broadcast, Conn joked that Leff’s next stop may be WGN, where both Meier and Agar have landed in recent months.