Threats Cancel Awake Illinois Event Slated For Des Plaines Theater

DES PLAINES, IL — An event slated to take place next month at the Des Plaines Theater and hosted by a conservative organization some have characterized as a hate group has been canceled by the venue’s operator.

The city-owned theater, which is operated by Ron Onesti, the chief operating officer of the company that runs the venue, announced Thursday that the event “Out of The Echo Chamber: Coalition For Kids”, would not take place after he and others affiliated with the theater were threatened.

The event was to have taken place on Feb. 8 and hosted by Awake Illinois, a conservative group that has been criticized by the LGBTQ+ community for its stance on social issues. Advocates within the LGBTQ+ community had called upon city officials to cancel the event, which drew a large crowd at this week’s city council meeting.

On the Awake Illinois website, the group said that the event had been canceled "due to threats."

Onesti, the president and CEO of Onesti Entertainment, had been criticized for allowing Awake Illinois to hold the event at the theater. While Onesti did not specifically say on Thursday while he elected to cancel the event, he said that the event had brought unwanted attention to him and others affiliated with the theater.

"What saddens me was the amount of hate that surfaced during all of this," Onesti said in a statement issued on Thursday. "People mailing bullets to me, asking their neighbors to fill my garbage cans with dog feces, countless hateful calls and outwardly targeting the Des Plaines Theatre, wishing its demise. And how would that have been good for the community?"

In the statement, Onesti said that Awake Illinois had rented the facility for use and that Onesti "had no deep knowledge of the subject matter, or how controversial it may be."

He added: "People began accusing me of supporting anti-LGBTQ+ events which made me sick to my stomach ....Homophobia is a disease of which I have not been afflicted."

The Chicago Tribune reported on Friday that Des Plaines Mayor Andrew Koczkowski said at Tuesday's council meeting that he would not have held the event at the venue, but that it was not the city's place to infringe on the First Amendment rights of others.

Onesti told the Tribune that he does not "take sides" and he would have allowed groups supporting opposing views to hold events at the Des Plaines Theater as well.

Awake Illinois opposes gender identity and sexual orientation instruction in schools and had described a kid-friendly drag show at a Lake In the Hills bakery as being perverted. The event was scheduled to include appearances by Shannon Adcock, Awake Illinois founder and chair of Moms for Liberty DuPage; Jamiee Michell, founder of Gays Against Groomers; and Terry Newsome, founder of Parents Involved in Education.

Last year, Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas criticized Awake Illinois forits "hateful rhetoric" after the organization characterized Gov. J.B. Pritzker as a "groomer".

On Friday morning, Awake Illinois, which is based in Naperville, said that it had learned that theater operators had “opted to half the contract” of the upcoming event “due to threats of physical violence directed at the venue and participants.”

“We are grateful for all citizens who support the 1st Amendment right to free speech and the right to peacefully assemble,” the group wrote on its Twitter feed on Friday.

The tweet also included the message that donations are welcomed for the group to secure its own event space.

In his statement, Onesti said that he firmly believes in the First Amendment right to free speech.

"This is a right and a privilege that should not be taken lightly, for the same rules that allow these events to happen also protect the rights of those who wish to protest them," he wrote. " I thought giving the opportunity to groups to have a forum for sensitive discussion was a good thing, something to be proud of.

He added: "I pray for the day when we can all come together and discuss these important issues, respectfully and with conviction."