DuPage Theater

Sorry Rita but you are wrong again – his comment stemmed from the fact that the Dist 87 board voted to table the issue until the funding problems could be accounted for. I was at the Dist 87 meeting when that happened. I forwarded that information to Senator Cronin. You see it had NOTHING to do with the board but the other taxing bodies that were not sold on the plan at the time.

Mr. Carroll stood up and stated at the June 2 meeting that all the taxing bodies supported the TIF extension for the theatre. That was another lie told in desperation. Dist 87 had NOT voted on it at that time because of the 3.5 million dollar gap in funding (which magically disappeared the night before the demolition vote!)

In addition – Senator Cronin was called and/or e-mailed by most everyone in my neighborhood regarding their concerns about the finances and size of that building plan. You can keep blaming Sebby but in this case,he actually had nothing to do with it!

Again – more misinformation. This was not a conspiracy folks but a logical move made to avoid a potentially disastrous redevelopment plan for the town and it’s residents.

Let’s find out who really supports your theatre plan and put it on a ballot…oh wait, that’s right, you fought against a referendum tooth and nail and never initiated your own. Now it’s too late. I wanted one – what were you afraid of?

You say our senator received so many support calls for the RSC plan and yet, he failed to sign the TIF which was critical to it’s success and then was quoted as saying his reason was “there wasn’t a solid voice behind the plan”.

Keep telling yourself the whole town wanted your plan, you had your chance to prove it and you didn’t. It doesn’t really matter anymore…thank goodness!

Duper Duper Duper-

You don’t care if it’s 800 or 500 seats?? It would have made a great deal of difference to the business plan that you keep touting about. The 300 seats disappeared just as magically as the 3.5 million dollar deficit did the night before the demolition vote – GIMME A BREAK!

You lie all the time with your tall tales of bribes and your insinuations of under the table dealings. You are misleading people about an issue that is pretty black and white to most of us and that is a LIE!

You can tell yourself there are only 5 people that opposed the plan – you’re dreaming. I contacted our senator and was told he was being flooded with e-mails from BOTH sides. We didn’t have a chance to speak at the meetings, thanks to the trustees swift action to end this nonsense. We won – what would be the need? Again – where was your vast support? Same 12 folks at all the meetings. Why not a referendum? You weaseled out of it because you knew the outcome…

I don’t blame the Friends for the state of the theater, I don’t blame the village either. Years of no profit made from lack of interest caused the building to lapse into it’s horrendous state. I do think the Friends made critical errors in how they handled their campaign for this plan.

As far as your roof story – what kind of roofer fixes a portion of a roof that doesn’t need repair? Couldn’t he tell where the damage was or was there so much damage, he couldn’t tell where to begin?

Another strange and misleading story that sounds like it’s missing facts…typical.

Funny how you conveniently left out the seat reduction until someone called you on it and that was a major reduction! Revenue will significantly drop from such a reduction – if the place was ever even booked!

The Ides of March oooh! They played at our HIGH SCHOOL last time they were here. Now that the theatre plan is history, they are more than welcome back to our lovely high school auditorium anytime they want, or better yet, the Taste of Lombard which actually has booked even bigger bands than them in the past.

No need for an autograph for me since their 1 hit was released before I was born. Not interested.

I will NEVER lament my stance against this theatre plan. It would surely have been a disaster. Any attempt to blatantly break as many codes and use that many of our TIF $$ as RSC did will be fought with as much vigor and determination as RSC was. So far, our record is 1-0. Many people (myself included) believe NOTHING could be worse than that plan.

I read in the local paper that our village president wrote a letter to the developer asking him to come up with another proposal that would reduce the size of the building to keep it within codes but had not received a response. What does that tell you about the shaky finances of this plan. Keep it within codes and raise more private donation money for restoration and operations and I would be first in line to support it but that will NEVER happen.

It’s not personal for me – I can guarantee you that I have been to the Dupe more than almost any of your readers. Even through the years when water leaked and dripped during a movie or when the mold smell was so bad you had to hold your breath. How about when the screen melted during a movie? I have more memories good and bad than any of you but restoration at all costs is not what’s best for the town and it’s residents. It has to be more sensible that what you’ve offered so far. Unfortunately no one understands that, they just keep pointing fingers until it’s too late.

The Dupe proposal called for a reduction in seating from 800 to 500 seats because there wasn’t enough parking. Duper – I thought you knew the business plan word for word? Wipe the egg of your own face now and quit lying about your now deceased plan.

I’m sure Ringo Starr or Martina McBride are interested in performing for a crowd of a measly 500 at the Dupe…yeah right. If that’s the case, I’m sure I would have seen them at more weddings and class reunions.

Hey, maybe after the show, Ringo will run over to the Grove for a patty melt or the DQ for a dip cone? Maybe he can even walk over to my place and tell me some old Beatles stories!

Please people, try for one minute to get a grip on reality.

You forgot to add to the Genessee’s list of performers Keith Urban and Martina McBride as well. WTTW filmed her performance, as well as Ringo Starr’s and many other’s for Soundstage presentations…Wouldn’t it be nice to turn on the television and see the words “Filmed at the Dupage Theatre, Lombard Illinois” above some nationally-know act’s name? Kind of a “Intimate Performance” setting..Many musicians really like this sort of thing since it allows them to interact better with the audience.

Duper Devitt-

You can PRO FORMA yourself until you’re blue in the face. There are NO GUARANTEES this venue would have made a profit and when it didn’t who would have been left holding the bag? The Village of Lombard and it’s residents that’s who!

Did the Genesee Theater group in Waukegan have a PRO FORMA presented to their town council before they renovated? Last report was their bookings have been a far cry from where they should be to break even. Not to mention they went a cool 10 million over in restoration costs.

I’m glad our village board has protected us from a nightmare story like that one. Although why should you, and others like you, care about the dangerous financial risks of this plan? You don’t live and pay taxes in Lombard!!!!! It’s easy to support restoration at all costs when those costs don’t fall in your lap!

Is there something in the water of this burg?What a bunch of insanity!How can sane people throw away this treasure?It’s obvious that bad blood is at the core of this fracas.It’s a crying shame that the small people involved are willing to sacrifice a national treasure to their vanity and ego.Of course some of the people “fighting for preservation"are obviously suffering from some special personality defects.This is so stupid.Get a life.Let some different people,who are probably on the sidelines now because of the rancor,take the helm and save this priceless,irreplacible wonder.

DuPageDude

Also, a renovated Yorktown in conjunction with the convention center is going to bring in vastly more money than performance theatre.

If my taxes are invested in economic growth, then great. The DuPage Theatre can barely justify breaking even. You’re comparing apples and oranges. And I think you’re having a problem with the caps lock.

Don’t forget to mention the fact that ALL TAXES will be REBATED to the convention center to pay back the bonds. If there is not enough TAX DOLLARS available at the end of the year, GENERAL FUNDS could be used to pay them back…
In addition, the Village is going to impose an extra 1% sales tax in the mall area to be GIVEN TO THE MALL-PRIVATE DEVELOPERS-TO FUND THEIR IMPROVEMENTS for things such as a water main on mall (private) property. That’s why Long/Peterson didn’t sell the mall, at the last minute, the Village offered him a sweetheart deal. News sources were reporting up until that day the mall was sold, then wham! Now Village residents are going to have to pay an extra tax to shop in their own town while the Mayor encourages Lombardians to “Shop Lombard”.
It’s amusing and ironic to me that the few theatre detractors try so hard NOT to bring these points up, to always try to deflect them, because they make their stance so silly. They think the Village is going to listen to them about what they want there IF the theatre is destroyed-HA!! Not a chance. They’ll probably be looking at a huge high-rise condo that’s for the “betterment of the Village”…

Quotes from today’s Chicago tribune.
Preservationists wonder if there would be a future for the Lombard site after demolition.
“Oh there’s no doubt,"Sebby said."But one of the biggest concerns is all of the silliness going on."
Several parties have expressed interest in the site,said Trustee Steven Sebby.The question is why anyone would consider the site,given the ongoing legal battle.
"What’s going on behind the scenes?"preservationist Jim Devitt said."It seems funny to me that they’re willing to demolish it without an alternative plan.It makes me wonder what’s going on”

Yes!A vote to demolish an historical building without an ALTERNATIVE plan for development
does make you wonder JUST what is going on.[behind the scenes.]

As quoted in the October 4, 2005, Chicago Tribune article that duper posted above:
“Opponents of the project don’t object to restoring the theater but to the village’s funding of it through tax increment financing.

Residents who have had enough and wish to move forward see the need for ‘private investment in the total project, allowing them to take all of the risk involved.’ "

So much for duper’s “anti-preservation” conspiracy theories, it’s right there in black and white.

I find it funny that they quote the self-proclaimed “preservationist” Devitt. He is not even associated with the ‘friends’ anymore and does not live in the town. As was quoted about him earlier “after his political career went down the toilet. Now he has a agenda, and it’s not really the theatre. He just uses it as a pawn….His incoherent ramblings of under the table deals and conspiracy theories are as ridiculous as he is”