Ex-La Grange Official Opposes Theater Plan

LA GRANGE, IL — A former La Grange trustee has come out against the proposal to forgive $1 million in loans to the owners of the La Grange Theatre, which has been closed throughout the pandemic.

Former Trustee Michael Horvath has taken to the "Local Government Matters" Facebook page, which he runs, to make the case against the proposed forgiveness.

"They agreed to the (original loan) deal and should honor their commitment. The Village Board must protect the taxpayers here as well," said Horvath, who served on the board from 2005 to 2013. "There are plenty of private investment and fundraising options for the theater owners to pursue for desired upgrades. Restructure the deal if needed, but simply waiving the obligation would be irresponsible, as sewer projects and other infrastructure needs that can only be funded with tax receipts sit unfunded."

The owners, Dan Chopp and John Rot, have proposed to share profits with the village in exchange for dropping the loans, which were given as part of a renovation a dozen years ago. By one official's estimate, the village could get a half million over a decade in the profit-sharing arrangement.

The proposal comes as the owners plan to let the Downers Grove-based Classic Cinemas chain run the local theater and invest $1 million in improvements.

Under the theater's agreement with the village, it would never need to repay the loans as long as the building remains a theater.

Horvath voted against the original deal with the theater years ago.

"I thought it was a bad deal for them. I predicted this would happen — that sometime in the future they're going to say this lien is bad for us," he said in an interview. "They could have fundraised a lot of money. There is a lot of popular support for theaters."

He suggested the deal could be restructured in a way that Classic would get ownership of the theater after a 10-year lease, along with profit sharing with the village. Then the lien could be forgiven after the 10 years, he said.

In his Facebook posts, Horvath questioned why the owners would need the loans forgiven.

"The $1,000,000 the owners would owe the Village if the theater closed has $0 impact on its annual operating expenses," Horvath said in a post. "So why does waiving that obligation have anything to do with Classic Cinemas leasing the building and operating the business? The claim is that without waiving the obligation, the lease would not be doable."

Patch contacted Chopp about why the loans needed to be forgiven.

"The deal that is proposed is to have Classic Cinemas take over the operations of the theater. The deal is with the intention to continue as a theater," Chopp said in an interview. "(Chris Johnson of Classic) won't move forward with the lien on a property that he is investing $1 million in. The reason for the lien was to assure the village it would always remain a theater. This is the business he is in."

The Village Board has not set a date for when it would vote on the theater's proposal. Supporters of the loans say the theater is an economic engine for downtown La Grange.