Village Board Votes To Save La Grange Theatre

LA GRANGE, IL — After months of debate and an outcry of public support, the La Grange Village Board voted unanimously Monday to ask Village Attorney Mark Burkland to draft an ordinance requesting the forgiveness of $1 million in Village loans to the La Grange Theatre.

Under a new agreement, the theater will be released from liens, and charge an entertainment tax to ticket sales that will be split between the Village and Classic Cinemas, the Downers Grove-based chain that has agreed to purchase the theater.

The vote helps ensure the survival of the beloved 96-year-old theater, which has become an iconic landmark of La Grange. After the unanimous roll call vote, audience members burst into applause.

“I’m very pleased and satisfied at how this discussion and negotiation has evolved over these two weeks,” said Trustee Michael Kotynek just before the vote. “I think all three parties came into this creatively, and I truly think this is a win-win-win across the board.”

Under the newest agreement, Classic Cinemas will invest at least $1 million in the theater, which only showed second-run films before it closed due to the pandemic. The $1 million investment will allow the theater to show first run films, which theater owners expect will boost ticket sales. It will also pay for an extensive renovation, which will include the installation of heated, reclining seats, and the construction of an additional auditorium.

Classic Cinemas CEO Chris Johnson, whose company specializes in the renovation of historic theaters, told the Board that he is “dedicated to preserving the historic look and feel of the theater and anything we can save that keeps it historic.” That remark was followed by audience applause.

To offset the million-dollar cost, Village President Mark Kuchler and Trustee Kotynek proposed an entertainment tax of 50 cents per ticket that could generate as much as $100,000 a year. The Village would collect half of that revenue and put it toward economic development, and rebate the other half to Classic Cinemas to recoup their initial investment. The theater owners would not receive entertainment tax revenue.

“The entertainment tax and the revised agreement will not cost the Village any additional money – in fact, it will provide a substantial amount of money that will be used for economic development and funding activities in the downtown,” Kuchler said.

The new proposal would also contain an amendment releasing current theater owners Chopp and Rot from the liens on the theater that have been in place since 2009, when the Village loaned the theater $1 million from its tax increment financing district for extensive repairs. Under that agreement, the theater does not have to repay the money as long as it remains a theater.

“We are thrilled to welcome Classic Cinemas to the Village of La Grange,” Chopp told Patch in a text. “We truly believe that all parties were satisfied with the agreement reached to bring a first-class operator, first-run movies, and soon to be upgraded La Grange Theatre to our hometown.”

Public support for a plan to save the theater has been widespread, and local business owners, politicians, and residents have all advocated for the theater as an iconic attraction that contributes to the downtown economy.

"The theater has both a cultural and historical significance to the community and is the backbone of our business district," La Grange Business Association Director Nancy Cummings said on Sept. 27. "It not only drives day tourism and its subsequent spending to La Grange, but it helps to distinguish us from other communities, it brings in audiences from surrounding areas, and it provides a sense of identity to our village."

However, Kristen Gale, wife of Trustee Lou Gale, said during the Sept. 27 meeting that forgiving the loans amounted to “corporate socialism.”

"I'm here to tell the board that I'm against any deal for the theater that does not recoup the taxes that were given to it in exchange for an agreement that it would continue as a movie theater," Gale said. "I'm here because I'm against corporate socialism. By that, I mean a reduction in taxes to keep a business in business, privatizing profits while forcing losses on the government — i.e., me the taxpayer."

Gale voted in favor, but, like resident speaker Jim Logino, has said that he fears that releasing the lien from the theater might result in a future sale of the property that would destroy its function as a theater. Gale did not make any remarks at Monday’s meeting.

Trustee Beth Augustine said on Monday that deal or no deal, there is no guarantee the property will remain a theater, but it is “absolutely [Classic Cinemas’] intention to keep it a theater, just make it a better theater.”

“First impressions and perceptions perceptions are priceless, like one of the other residents said, and when you drive down La Grange, you want to see the beautiful sign, and I feel strongly they’ll maintain the neon and the ‘La Grange’ we all love, and they’ll maintain the board, and people will continue to drive through La Grange and say, ‘Wow, this is a special place,’” Augustine said, noting how the community has banded together to protect its businesses.

“I’ve got a ten-year-old son, and the reason I’m here tonight is because he looked at me at dinner, and said, ‘Mom, please go try and save the theater – I’ve never had an experience there, and I want one,’” said resident Ashley Connor, whose family moved to La Grange just before the pandemic.

“I have a feeling you’ll be able to go back and tell your son that you saved the movie theater,” Kuchler replied.

Related:

• La Grange Theatre Debate: 'Socialism' Or Good Deal?
• These La Grange Residents Want To Save Theater
• Struggling La Grange Theatre Turns To Chain