Rialto's Next $250,000 Installment Goes To City Council

JOLIET, IL - Between music concerts and famous comedians taking the stage in downtown Joliet, the first six months of 2018 were busy, according to Rialto Square Theatre officials. Since January, the Rialto has hosted around 30 adult programs including Lewis Black, Dennis Miller, Buddy Guy, Engelbert Humperdinck, Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon and 3 Doors Down, among the many notable names. This Wednesday night, July 18, comedian Jerry Seinfeld will make his grand appearance. His 7 p.m. show is sold out.

On Tuesday night, the Joliet City Council votes whether to approve the Rialto theater's second $250,000 installment for 2018. The taxpayer subsidy helps fund the operations of the historic theater. The Rialto's initial $250,000 installment was approved in a 7-1 vote in January with council member Larry Hug voting against it. Nowadays, the Rialto is operated by VenuWorks, which is based in Ames, Iowa.

Joliet City Manager David Hales has provided the council with a letter indicating the Rialto has fulfilled its obligations to receive the second $250,000 installment for 2018. The city council agreement stipulated the Rialto would book a minimum of 30 live entertainment performances excluding performances targeted for grade school children who get bused to the Rialto during the regular school day.

Rialto Executive Director Val Devine also provided Hales with the Rialto's short and long term property maintenance schedule that highlights much-needed building repairs. Third, Devine provided Hales with a list of recent efforts by the Rialto to reach out to other Will County local governments and state politicians in an attempt to secure additional funding including the possibility of a hotel-motel tax.

However, the 16-page memo provided to Joliet's City Council for this week's vote does not appear to include any financial documents related to the Rialto's show-by-show expenses and revenues during these past six months. In summary, it's hard to gauge whether most of the Rialto's shows during these past six months were major money-makers or whether they fell into the category of breaking even or losing money.

The Joliet City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

If you're interested, here are some of the Joliet Patch's more recent articles and an opinion column about the Rialto:

Joliet Gives Rialto Another $500,000 For 2018

Rialto's 2017 Successes, Failures Revealed

Seinfeld Tickets Just Went On Sale

Ferak Column: Rialto Doesn't Need $500,000 In 2019

Images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor