Waste watch: Illinois grants $4M to private theaters

Illinois lawmakers gave money to venues for plays, concerts and weddings – without explaining why private concerns deserved public money.

Illinois state lawmakers are spending over $4 million to subsidize local theatres and venues.

Grants to theaters and venues include:

• $2 million to the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet for an HVAC system and capital improvements.
• $1.875 million to Miracle Center Inc. near Chicago for an accessibility installation and infrastructure improvements.
• $125,000 to Urban Theater Company in Chicago for capital improvements.

These organizations are private entities with private revenue streams from supporters. Why they deserve public funds remains a mystery, but taxpayers and venues that did not get public money deserve to know why.

Joliet’s Rialto Square Theatre is a historic venue for concerts, plays, weddings and other receptions. Because the theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s already eligible for state tax incentives such as a 25% tax credit for renovations up to $3 million, despite being an income-producing entity.

The Miracle Center, a Chicago-area performing arts venue that offers programming focused especially on people of color, also has alternative revenue sources, including wealthy sponsors and community partners such as Walmart, PepsiCo, and U.S. Bank that already contribute to its operating costs.

The Urban Theater Company, a performing arts group and venue, brings in revenue from donations and ticket sales for their productions. This revenue has exceeded its expenses in every year since 2019.

These organizations also have expressed partisan bias, which means state taxpayers are funding ideological programming. For example, the Chicago-based Urban Theater Company encourages visitors to its website to “uncover unconscious bias” and endorses media containing critical race theory, signaling its ideological bent. The Miracle Center has a similar ideological lean.

Taxpayers should not have to pay for ideological projects and programming.

Lawmakers claimed the 2026 budget contained no pork, but a closer look shows 2,815 items over $200,000 lawmakers decided to fund in the final hours of the legislative session – rushed, harmful to taxpayers and with no time for public scrutiny.

The items include the theatre funding grant and $40 million for a sports complex at the alma mater of Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch.

Competitive grants with objective evaluation criteria and reporting requirements should be scored and tracked by a state agency to ensure the funds are allocated and used properly. These earmarks should be made public well in advance of the budget vote – not hidden until state lawmakers can get a photo-op to bolster their reelection bids. Taxpayers should know why the money is being spent and what the public should expect in return for the support.

Reforms such as a state budget spending cap, mandatory public review periods and requiring detailed grant disclosures would help restore transparency and trust in Springfield. A little sunshine would ward off waste.

Want to see the 2,815 earmarks over $200,000 and other questionable spending state lawmakers put in this year’s budget? Use our look-up tool below.