Siafa Lewis leaving NBC 5 Chicago; Leila Rahimi joining station part-time

NBC 5 Chicago lead sports anchor Siafa Lewis is leaving the station for a news anchor job at the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, NBC 5 announced Tuesday. Lewis’ last day is Nov. 4.

The station is hiring Leila Rahimi on a per-diem basis for the sports department. She co-hosts the midday show on 670 The Score with Dan Bernstein.

Lewis, who joined NBC 5 in May 2014 as a weekend sports anchor and reporter, is returning to his roots. He began his TV career at the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia as the weekend traffic reporter. He graduated from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, a Philadelphia suburb. Lewis’ mother and extended family still live in the area.

Rahimi joined The Score full-time in January, becoming the first woman to host a weekday daytime shift at the station. She spent five years at NBC Sports Chicago before being let go as part of companywide layoffs at NBCUniversal.

In an email to staff, station manager and vice president of news Frank Whittaker said Jeff Blanzy, Mike Berman and Rahimi will share anchor duties for the time being. Blanzy joined NBC 5 in June 2016 after 11 years at ABC 7. Berman, who grew up in Northbrook and went to Glenbrook North, came aboard in August 2016.