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Entertainment venues side with Rosemont on not releasing show records

Does a publicly owned entertainment venue have to disclose financial information contained in its contracts with performers, including incentives that may have helped lure them to town?

Are taxpayers worse off in the long run if the ins and outs of such deals are revealed, possibly putting the public asset at a competitive disadvantage?

That's the battle being waged in Rosemont, where officials argue keeping contract details private is part of the secret to the village's success as a business and entertainment hub.

They've fought the release of information about the publicly owned Allstate Arena and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center to the media and a government watchdog group, but the Illinois Attorney General's office ruled last week that the village violated the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to turn over details about incentives given to Garth Brooks' concert promoter.

Other suburban governments that run entertainment venues seem to side with Rosemont, and some suggest that they, too, might not be forthcoming with all the financial details about the shows they book.

“I'd probably have to refer it to the attorney and say, 'How do we handle this?'” said Diana Martinez, director of the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. “The act doesn't want (others) to know they played for a lower price. Who wants to say the asking price went down?

“You probably wouldn't want to buy a pair of gym shoes for $100 if you knew it only cost $5 to make.”

Rosemont officials argue that having to reveal financial details relating to the booking of shows, including the amount and number of incentives, would cost the village its “competitive edge” when negotiating with other acts and promoters. Officials say they provide incentives to attract shows that may be considering other venues, including privately owned facilities that don't have to reveal finances.

“Rosemont has a responsibility to taxpayers to create an environment that is good for business. That is where we excel,” Mayor Brad Stephens wrote in a December guest column in the Daily Herald. “I also understand that business thrives in an environment of transparency. But transparency doesn't mean revealing the details of ongoing negotiations.

“You don't take the lid off the rice before it's cooked, and you don't show your playbook to the opposing team in the middle of the game.”

Officials at Sears Centre Arena, which is owned by Hoffman Estates, say they comply with FOIA laws and don't have a problem releasing contracts and other documents related to entertainers, shows, concerts and teams. However, village officials left open the door to redacting information if they believe it could hurt the venue's competitiveness.

“If there was something contained within the document that was an exception to FOIA, then we would take a second analysis to see whether or not to withhold the information,” said Village Attorney Art Janura. “That would depend on if there's truly a detriment to securing and retaining entertainment acts.”

Last October, Hoffman Estates officials refused to reveal details about a one-season contract with the Chicago Mustangs soccer team at the Sears Centre. They said at the time that disclosure could affect the arena's competitiveness.

Ben Gibbs, the arena's general manager, said while officials would evaluate whether releasing information would hinder the arena's ability to compete, he wasn't as concerned as Rosemont officials.

“Just because someone knows the deal for someone else doesn't mean we have to honor it across the board,” Gibbs said. “I don't find we lose leverage with someone because literally every circumstance is so unique.”

Next door in Schaumburg, the village owns venues including the Prairie Center for the Arts and the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel.

The village staff runs the Prairie Center, which contracts directly with the acts that perform there. As such, documents related to the facility's operation are public, said Mayor Al Larson.

But the shows and other bookings at the convention center are contracted by a private company — Marriott — which the village hired to run the facility. Larson said the only public contract is the one between the village and Marriott.

Village Manager Brian Townsend said the village has never received a request for financial records related to shows at the convention center, so it's unclear how the village would respond.

State FOIA law provides that public records held by a third party with whom a governmental agency “has contracted to perform a governmental function on behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the governmental function,” are still considered public records.

Don Craven, a First Amendment attorney and general counsel for the Illinois Press Association, said the question of whether third party agencies that run public venues have to reveal financial details is “at best, an open question” that hasn't been tested by the courts.

But he believes government transparency advocates, like himself, have a strong case.

“It's publicly owned, funded and operated,” Craven said. “One of the things we ought to be able to find out is does everybody get treated the same? If ABC needs to rent 20,000 square feet for something, do they get charged the same price as DEF?”

The attorney general's decision in the Rosemont case last Friday came on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Better Government Association, after the village refused to release copies of contracts related to the Allstate Arena and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.

The village claimed such information was exempt under FOIA law because it constituted “trade secrets.”

The 89-year-old Genesee Theatre in Waukegan is owned by the city but leased to a nonprofit group for a $1 a year. As such, general manager Jan Gibson believes it's not subject to FOIA laws.

“I can't imagine or know how Rosemont works, but ours is a very simple contract with the city,” Gibson said. “It works well. It helps the city out.”

At the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, Director Butch Wilhelmi says the city-owned venue is now primarily a rental facility, serving as home to the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, community theater groups, banquets and trade shows. Before 2012, the 1,200-seat Hemmens theater hosted — and paid for — more entertainers, including B.B. King, Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby.

“Certainly to that end, if somebody asks for financials on that, we'd give them anything that we had,” Wilhelmi said. “From a personal perspective, I see Rosemont's point of view in that what you are able to negotiate with the artist helps you negotiate in the future.”

The James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake is owned and operated by the College of Lake County, but the scheduling of professional performing artists is “minimal” compared to the college music, theater and dance programs that receive first priority, said Gwethalyn Bronner, the facility's executive director. Bronner said the college would comply with any FOIA requests.

“I can't comment on what (Rosemont's) done or did not do or should or shouldn't have done, because we're nowhere near what they are. My largest venue is 572 seats,” Bronner said. “We're literally talking cherries and watermelons here. Incentives? I don't even know what that would look like.”

In November, Rosemont's board passed an ordinance aimed at protecting “confidential financial and proprietary information” about village-owned entertainment venues from public disclosure.

The decision from the attorney general's office said the ordinance does not supersede state FOIA law. Starting last Friday, Rosemont has 35 days to choose whether it wants a judicial review of the attorney general's decision through the circuit court of Cook or Sangamon counties.

“We are currently reviewing the decision and will decide what the village will do within that time frame,” Stephens said.

• Staff writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.

New Rosemont law aims to keep some financial information secret

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Illinois Attorney General: Rosemont must release concert contract details

  Rosemont officials' refusal to release financial records related to the village-owned Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Better Government Association. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com, February 2008
The publicly-owned Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, which hosts sports memorabilia shows and other events, is run by a third party entity. Whether records related to the operation of such venues have to be released is a question that hasn't been determined by the courts. Daily Herald File Photo
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