Joliet Mayor Taking Applications for Rialto Board Spot

Joliet Mayor Tom Giarrante said he will accept resumes from anyone interested on serving as a member of the Rialto Square Theatre’s governing board — and announced Tuesday that he will interview a member of a grassroots group that has been outspokenly critical of recent decisions by the board and theater management.

Giarrante responded to “The Rialto Belongs to the People” member Ron Gruber, who spoke out during public comment at Tuesday’s city council meeting to say Mary Beth Gannon should be appointed to fill a vacant spot on the Will County Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority board.

Related:

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• Rialto Officials: New Marquee Has Been Nearly a Decade in the Making
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The seat has been empty since the Aug. 9, 2014 death of longtime Rialto board member Dave Hacker.

Giarrante said he will accept resumes through Wednesday, Jan. 28. Resumes can be dropped off or sent to the City Hall, 150 W. Jefferson St.

“Mary Beth Gannon should be at the top of the list of candidates and she should be appointed,” Gruber said Tuesday.

Gannon and the “Rialto Belongs to the People” group have been at odds with Rialto officials since a November announcement that a new marquee would be installed at the 88-year-old theater.

Since then, the Rialto board has announced it will look into a possible redesign of the digital, video-playing marquee, which drew harsh criticism from opponents. Joliet businessman Ed Czerkies has also withdrawn his $350,000 donation, which would have funded the marquee, amid the controversy.

On Tuesday, Gruber called the marquee design “historically inappropriate,” saying it “ruins the look of the beautiful Rialto theater.”

He said the Rialto Belongs to the People group hopes to work together with theater officials — but warned that members will vehemently oppose any efforts to move forward with the controversial marquee design.

“We are not going away,” Gruber said, “and we are certainly not a fly-by-night group that will dissolve quickly, as some have suggested.” Gruber noted that the group’s online fundraiser for the marquee project has raised more than $6,000.

Gruber said the group wants the Rialto to keep the marquee “as close as possible to the 1926 design,” adding that Joliet-based Grate Signs staff believes the existing marquee can be refurbished and restored to good working order.

Giarrante, who said he will interview Gannon, plans to announce his pick to serve on the Rialto board at the Joliet City Council’s Feb. 16 meeting.

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