New Lollapalooza Deal Pays Immediate Dividends For County
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 7, 2012 4:40PM
The new deal to extend Lollapalooza's stay in Chicago through 2021 has resulted in $160,000 in amusement tax revenues for Cook County's coffers.
The original deal between the Chicago Park District and C3 Presents, Lollapalooza's co-owners and promoters, had come under scrutiny in recent years because C3 wasn't required to pay amusement taxes to the county as revenues and attendance for Lollapalooza have increased. This year's festival sold out last week, a full three months before it takes over Grant Park August 3-5.
Under the old deal (which was negotiated in part by Mark Vanecko, a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley) C3 eschewed paying amusement and liquor taxes in exchange for contributing a percentage of its revenue to the non-profit Parkways Foundation, which is dedicated to improving Chicago's parks. Parkways has received nearly $11 million during Lollapalooza's first seven years in Chicago.
Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer, who proposed a County Board vote on any amusement tax exemption totaling $150,000 or more in January with Lollapalooza in mind, told the Sun-Times the added revenue could have benefits beyond simply being collected. She wants to put it into a summer jobs program for at-risk teens ages 14-18.
“The thing is there will be 75 young people who will work this summer who otherwise would not have had a summer job,” Gainer told the Sun-Times Tuesday, after introducing her proposal at a county board meeting. “We’re in a depressed economy,” she said, and that can be even worse in poor, violence-plagued neighborhoods. ...“We know that if young people have places to go and positive things to do, they’re less likely to be in a situation where things could go wrong,” Gainer said. “For a lot of people a summer job is a turning point for them. It’s a great opportunity.”
Gainer's proposal was sent to the Finance Committee and could be voted on by the complete Board by the end of the month.