Rialto Doesn't Need $500,000 Joliet Subsidy: Ferak Column

JOLIET, IL — As this photo taken Saturday night illustrates, downtown Joliet was the center of excitement this weekend. It was a great weekend for the Rialto Square Theatre, a downtown fixture since 1926 and a great weekend for The Forge, located in the old Kline's Building at Cass and Chicago Streets. The Forge is a relative newcomer to Joliet. It opened in April 2017.

On Friday night, the Rialto hosted a sold-out show featuring Motown legends The Temptations and The Four Tops. Directly across the street, The Forge set up a huge outdoor stage at the City Center Plaza. The Forge hosted the city's first-ever Rock The Block, a downtown Joliet outdoor music festival. A total of 14 bands played.

On Saturday night, FM radio stations 96.7 and 100.7 were both broadcasting live from Rock The Block as the crowd was pouring in. By 8 p.m. the crowd was probably around 5,000 as '90s rock fans came to see Marcy Playground, Local H and Everclear all take the stage in downtown Joliet on a hot summer night.

I went down to check out Rock The Block, along with my 10-year-old early Saturday afternoon during the 95-degree heat wave. The sun made it unbearable, but thankfully there was a huge tent to provide shade. My son and I stayed to watch Done Dirt Cheap, an AC/DC tribute band. The people on hand, AC/DC lovers, were smiling, drinking, mingling with friends. They can all thank The Forge.

As I've pointed out in recent Joliet Patch articles, The Forge has been a sizzling success in spite of the fact that most long-time Joliet residents probably have no idea where The Forge is or what it is.

The Forge is on pace to host more than 200 live music concerts this year. Most shows tend to draw 400 to 700. This Thursday's June 21 show featuring Wayland is certain to pack The Forge, which can hold almost 1,000 people.

Unlike the Rialto, The Forge is also open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday for lunch, and I can tell you from eating there three times so far this summer, the sandwiches and burgers are delicious, easily some of the best food around the downtown.

Then, there's The Rialto, where I walked across the stage in June of 1991 to receive my diploma from Plainfield High School.

A couple years ago, the place appeared on the verge of closing. But the Rialto has made a nice comeback since it contracted with VenuWorks, the Ames, Iowa, entertainment management company. Valerie Devine is now the Rialto's executive director.

Since VenuWorks arrived, the Rialto's lineup has been looking better. The Rialto recently announced that it landed comedian Jerry Seinfeld for a Wednesday, July 18 performance. This past Friday, the Rialto announced four upcoming events that are bound to be popular:

1. Gaelic Storm, Wednesday, Aug. 15
2. 'I Ain't Doin' It' comedian Heather Land for Tuesday, Sept. 11
3. Inaugural Rialto Square Theatre Beer Bash, Sunday, Sept. 16
4. Sheila E. for Friday, Oct. 12

To close out the year, the Rialto has already booked 98 Degrees for a Dec. 20 Christmas concert.

Without a doubt, Joliet is much better off having two thriving live music venues in downtown Joliet than one or none.

The Forge caters to a younger crowd, mostly between 21 and 40.

According to The Rialto, 35 percent of its regular crowd, is 55 years and older. Another 28 percent of its audience is 45 to 54 years old.

Which brings us to the controversial issue of taxpayer subsides for the Rialto. This year, just like in years past, the Joliet City Council set aside a $500,000 subsidy for the Rialto in the 2018 city operating budget. I think the time has come for Joliet City Council members to start being bold. It's time to wean the Rialto off this enormous taxpayer subsidy.

After all, the Rialto appears on solid management footing with VenuWorks booking the shows. From my standpoint, it's also a fairness issue. The Forge, not The Rialto, has been the hotter and more frequent concert ticket in downtown Joliet over the past year.

Drive past The Bays Professional Centre on a given weekday between 3 and 5 p.m., and you're bound to see a line of young adults stretched along Cass Street, often winding down Chicago Street. They are not waiting in line to get into the Rialto. They're waiting to get into The Forge. The Forge typically hosts four live concerts every week, some weeks even more shows.

Week to week successes or failures dictate whether The Forge is making a profit or losing money.

The Forge is not showing up at the Joliet City Council's doorstep begging for a $500,000 subsidy to keep the doors open. It appears to be doing quite well, as evidenced by sponsoring the three-day Rock The Block.

Given the city council's long-standing allegiance to the Rialto, except for member Larry Hug, who has voted against the $500,000 subsidy, it may be hard to convince some of the incumbents to give the Rialto anything less than $500,000 for 2019 and beyond. Next year, though, happens to be an election year. Besides the mayor's seat, all five council districts are on the ballot next spring.

Before returning to Joliet last summer, I worked at several out of state large newspapers where I covered a number of hotly contested elections in Indiana, Iowa, Omaha, Nebraska and Wisconsin. A quality local candidate can knock off an incumbent on a one-issue race if they run a smart and well-publicized political campaign.

Perhaps a challenger or a group of challengers who ran on a platform promising to do away with the $500,000 Rialto subsidy could get elected to the Joliet City Council.

I think they could pull it off.

If The Forge can make itself into one of the biggest live music venues in the Chicagoland without any major subsidies from Joliet, then why should the Rialto be the one getting the big fat check for $500,000 again in 2019 and likely beyond that?

John Ferak is Patch Editor for Joliet, New Lenox and Bolingbrook and Patch coverage for Shorewood and Channahon-Minooka

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Main image and bottom image from Saturday night's Rock The Block downtown Joliet were provided to Joliet Patch with permission to use