A City Council committee on Wednesday authorized a full calendar of the special events Chicagoans treasure — including Taste of Chicago and the Air and Water Show — hoping the city’s $1.8 billion share of new federal stimulus funds can help bankroll those large-scale summer gatherings.
With vaccinations surging and coronavirus cases dropping, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has asked the Chicago Police Department to prepare security plans for Lollapalooza and other massive events.
Just this week, the mayor delighted Cubs and Sox fans by allowing them to return to Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field, though at 20% of capacity.
On Wednesday, the City Council’s Special Events Committee authorized the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to hold the “full calendar” of events it normally puts on. That includes everything from Taste of Chicago to the Air and Water Show to the Blues, Jazz and Gospel festivals.
“We are continuing with our discussions with the fifth floor [mayor’s office]. And we are hopeful that there may be in the [Biden stimulus] bill when it’s passed some additional support for arts and culture,” said Mark Kelly, Chicago’s commissioner of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
“I will say that, even though we have a 49% [budget] cut, we’ll be making some announcements in the next several weeks that speak to an ambitious agenda for arts and culture as we, hopefully, emerge” from the pandemic.
Kelly said he’s proud to have generated more than $10 million over the last year for the Arts Illinois Relief Fund, but “that’s just a fraction of the devastation that has been felt within that landscape. ... Our music clubs, our theaters. Largely our museums. The impact is in the billions of dollars in lost revenue and its relationship to tourism. There’s no question that, for the economic recovery of our city, we need to support the arts and cultural landscape because it will play an integral role in that recovery.”
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Jennifer Johnson Washington, the city’s director of special events, said even though the ordinance approved Wednesday authorizes the full calendar of events, officials know full well that could change.
“All of it’s out there. We know that there’ll be re-opening guidelines that will effect [what happens]. And obviously where we are in recovery will dictate what we’re able to produce. The mass gathering size, etc. And obviously, COVID safety guidelines being followed,” Washington said.
The mere talk of returning to some semblance of special events normalcy was music to the ears of Ald. Daniel LaSpata (1st).
“I know it’s a routine ordinance, but it is a very hopeful thing to see an ordinance for special and public events in the city as we [welcome people back] to the downtown, to our neighborhoods in a way that is healthy and safe,” LaSpata said.
“Many of us have some incredible independent venues in our wards that want to see them stay closed while they need to stay closed and weather this storm, but also recognize the vital role that they have in the cultural and economic life of our community.”
Wednesday’s optimism was in stark contrast to the dour message Kelly delivered to aldermen just four months ago at Council budget hearings.
Kelly testified then that Lightfoot’s pandemic budget included no funding for Taste of Chicago or the Air and Water Show in 2021. He told aldermen with the convention and tourism industries ground to a halt, the dramatic drop in hotel tax revenue had cut his $50 million budget in half.
“The challenge … is to find a path forward that augments our budget,” Kelly said that day.
“All of our theaters are dark. All of our dance venues can’t perform. All of our music clubs. There is total devastation of the cultural landscape.”
On Wednesday, Kelly acknowledged under questioning that his department receives no support from the city’s corporate fund and that 60% of his staff has been redeployed over the past year to help with coronavirus testing and vaccinations.
“We were supported with CARES Act money to cover those costs. And we assume that will also carry into 2021,” Kelly said.
“We believe that there will be enough revenue to cover that [$25 million] budget for this year. … But we are also hopeful that there will be additional CARES Act funds that can help support arts recovery in this year.”
Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) countered that corporate fund support for DCASE will be needed at some point “until the economy re-invigorates itself.”
“We have to come up with putting our money where our mouth is, especially at a time when we know that the taxes that support this department simply do not exist at this time,” Lopez said.
