The Art Institute is learning a hard lesson: you don't screw around with Ald. Ed Burke (14th). Responding to the AIC's recent decision to raise admission prices by 50 percent, Burke, along with Ald. Virginia Rugai (19th), has introduced a measure to the City Council that, according to the Tribune, "would block city fee waivers to any not-for-profit Chicago Museum that charges more than $10 for general admission," including cutting off free water. Said Burke, "They are making it almost impossible for the average Chicago citizen to take his or her family to view these Chicago treasures...At the same time they are paying to subsidize the institution, they are going to be required to pay $18 to go into the institution? That doesn't seem fair." more ›

The Chicago Park District Board has unanimously voted in favor of raising admission fees to the Art Institute of Chicago. Starting May 23, admission for students and seniors will go from $7 to $12 and regular adult admission will increase by 50 percent, from $12 to $18. That same month, the museum's new 264,000-square-foot Modern Wing is set to open. Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner defended the unpopular move, saying, "The Art Institute is a world-class museum with rising expenses like any other entity. With the number of free days that they have, it still remains accessible to the citizens of Chicago.'' Those free days include every Thursday evening year-round and Friday evenings in the summer. [CBS 2] more ›