Agree with all yours points, mainly the one with the radio edits that 104.3 plays that B96 once played. When 104.3 first launched its current format, I heard a special mashup-like version of Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You" that also featured the first verse of the Police's "Every Breath You Take". I recall hearing that version back when I listened to B96 in the late 90s/early 2k.

On a side note, I know B96 was always supposed to be a top 40 station but I always found it weird for them to play Jewel, Shawn Colvin, Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, etc. (artists far more associated with 101.9 the Mix or Q101 with the latter two artists) as the station up to that point (circa 1997) was known for dance music and the major R&B/hip hop hits as the radio/music trade magazines like Billboard classified B96 as a rhythmic pop station.

I miss the days when corporate radio made stations appeal to a particular market, especially a major market like Chicago, instead of the one-size-fits-all cookie cutter approach of today. Yes, Milwaukee and Chicago are culturally similar as they are only roughly 80 miles apart.