Chicago radio's hottest couple will be mixing it up in mornings for years to come.

Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart, the phenomenally popular morning duo on WTMX-FM (101.9) have agreed to long-term renewals at the modern rock station.

The agreements couldn't come at a better time for Bonneville International Corp., parent company of ''The Mix,'' which just scored big victories in the latest Arbitron quarterly survey. Ferguson and Hart's morning show finished first in two key demographic categories--among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 and adults between the ages of 25 and 54.

Terms of their deals were not disclosed.

But sources said Ferguson signed a five-year contract worth more than $5 million. The deal, negotiated by attorney Barry Meister, puts Ferguson into the highest echelon of Chicago radio talent.

Hart agreed to a four-year deal (for what is believed to be less money than her partner) before she took off on maternity leave last week. She delivered her second child, Annika, on Friday. 

Widely regarded as the antithesis of shock radio, Ferguson and Hart's female-friendly morning show has been the beneficiary of shrewd marketing (including ubiquitous bus cards and billboards), sophisticated production and promotion and seamless interaction with listeners.

Ferguson, who grew up in Downstate Elburn, joined ''The Mix'' in 1996 from KWMX-FM in Denver. He immediated was teamed up with Hart, a native of northwest suburban Crystal Lake, who had signed on the year before. She previously had held on-air jobs in Rockford; Milwaukee; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Phoenix, and Columbus, Ohio. 

Their show ranks fourth among all listeners with a 4.4 percent share and a cumulative weekly audience of 480,400.

Kathy Hart, the "fairer" half of The Mix morning show team, went to Columbia College and has worked every format and every daypart in cities like Rockford, Milwaukee, Raleigh, Phoenix, and Columbus before finally coming home to Chicago! 

She is a big sports fan and can finally admit publicly she's a Packers fan. She also loves the Cubs!

Kathy has also received a black belt in karate with the help of her karate instructor ... who also happens to be her husband! 

She lives for cheese fries, and that hasn't changed now that she's had her first child, Alexander (nicknamed 'Xander), born on December 30, 1999. After the experience, she still says she wants EIGHT kids!