After some discussion in recent weeks, Aurora Mayor John Laesch’s proposed slate of board members to lead the Paramount Theatre and other related entertainment venues in the city was approved Tuesday by the Aurora City Council.
More Top Picks Best Razer Blade Laptops
The appointments were approved by the council in a split vote. Voting for the appointments were Alds. Dan Barreiro, 1st Ward; Juany Garza, 2nd Ward; Jonathan Nunez, 4th Ward; Javier Banuelos, 7th Ward; Edward Bugg, 9th Ward; and Keith Larson and Will White, at-large. Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, voted “present,” while Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, recused himself. Alds. Carl Franco, 5th Ward; Mike Saville, 6th Ward; and Shweta Baid, 10th Ward, voted against the appointments.
Of the nine-member Aurora Civic Center Authority board, Laesch’s recommendations included four new appointees and the reappointments of two members, all of whom were approved by the council Tuesday.
The four new members are Juan Sifuentes, Diane Lantz, Nastasha Prunty and Christopher Childress, who would seemingly replace former board members John Savage, Mike Baum, Chris Weber and Cynthia Latimer. The two board members being reappointed are Gina Moga and Jonathan Hylton.
The appointments are said to represent Laesch’s vision for the future of the Aurora Civic Center Authority — namely, that it will offer more diverse programming and be more financially stable. The organization owns the Paramount Theatre, the Copley Theatre, Paramount School of the Arts and North Island Center, and manages the city-owned RiverEdge Park and Stolp Island Theatre.
Sifuentes is currently the chair of East Aurora School District 131’s board, and has been touted by Aurora Deputy Chief of Staff Nicholas Richard-Thompson as having experience managing a budget and acquiring talent, as well as being able to help the Civic Center Authority reach Latino audiences.
Lantz retired as the executive director of Illinois Government Finance Officers Association and previously served as Elk Grove’s assistant finance director. She’s also a frequent patron of the Paramount, Richard-Thompson said previously.
Prunty, meanwhile, is the president of Gospel Morale and Entertainment, and is a “nationally-recognized creative director” who has “elevated Black art and entertainment across the region,” according to Richard-Thompson.
And Childress is a philanthropic business leader and co-founder of Progressive Business Solutions. He is not a resident, but frequents the Paramount, officials have said.
As for the two reappointments, Moga is a retired special events manager, and Hylton has 25 years of investment advisory experience, officials said.
Already on the Aurora Civic Center Authority board and staying on it are Brian Caputo, Philip Van Lear and Tim Hoppa.
Caputo is the city’s chief operating officer. He was the city’s chief financial officer from 1998 to 2017, and has also served as president of the College of DuPage, among other roles.
Van Lear was appointed to the Aurora Civic Center Authority board by Laesch late last year. Born and raised in Aurora, he’s been a professional actor and director for over 45 years, appearing in TV shows such as “Prison Break,” “Chicago Fire” and “Empire.”
Hoppa is staying on the board for another year, Laesch has said, as the city works to find a potential replacement.
The terms for the appointments are being intentionally staggered by lottery, according to the city, so as to “ensure board continuity and prevent all terms from expiring at the same time.”
Lantz and Prunty will serve terms set to expire in 2028, while Childress and Sifuentes are being appointed for terms expiring in 2027. The terms for Moga and Hylton, on the other hand, will not expire until 2029.
Following the initial “start-up” period, all members will be appointed for three-year terms.
The appointments, however, have generated some debate from City Council members in recent weeks — particularly as it relates to the push for more diverse programming and to board members’ fundraising abilities.
On the question of fundraising, Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, previously said that it’s been the practice of Aurora Civic Center Authority board members to either contribute funds themselves to the organization or bring in outside funding.
Following discussion among the council and a reception that allowed the proposed new board members to introduce themselves to the public, the four appointments and two reappointments were ultimately brought to the council’s Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this month.
More Top Picks Labs Soils
Then, Tuesday, the appointments and reappointments were brought forward for final City Council approval, and questions about diversity and fundraising again came up.
Ald. Dan Barreiro, 1st Ward, pointed to how Aurora has “endeavored to embrace its diversity,” and “made much progress.” The city has a number of boards and commissions, which largely reflect the community, he said.
But Barreiro also pointed to ACCA’s financial struggles and said that fundraising was cited in the city’s budget discussions as an area of improvement, so it “seems logical that fundraising would be a factor in board appointments.”
Nevertheless, the city’s entertainment venues have had a significant economic impact on the city, he indicated.
“No one wants to go backwards,” Barreiro said. “The ACCA appointments matter.”
So, at Tuesday’s meeting, Barreiro said that — despite the concerns that have been raised —“the sky is not falling,” and the council is “ready to continue to be a strong partner” with ACCA.
“We have voiced our concerns, but now we need … to come together and move forward,” Barreiro said.
Ald. Keith Larson, at-large, spoke in favor of Laesch’s appointments, describing them as having “a good mix of experiences and ideas for how to make ACCA even more successful.”
On the topic of diversity, Larson said Aurora’s diversity is part of what drew him to move to the city, and he said expanding arts offerings has the potential to benefit everyone.
“I don’t think additional programming meant to include more people will take anything away from ACCA’s current success,” Larson said. “In fact, I believe it’ll only draw in more people, especially people who live in Aurora that feel as though they have not been included.”
Referencing, for example, the impact federal immigration officers’ presence in the city has had on local businesses, Larson also pointed to the impact the arts can have generally.
“People throughout history have embraced art in times of hardship, and today is no different,” Larson said. “We all want to see the arts thrive in our city, and I, as a member of this community, would like to give these appointees a chance.”
Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward, said it’s true that financial concerns are important, but the “assumption that one of our cultural boards or cultural acts could not bring in the green” is a “poor assumption.” He also pointed to the new board’s potential to come up with new ideas and acts that will bring “not only diversity, but success, and with success comes green.”
Bugg also said that the purpose of an entity like ACCA is not to make money, but to “give back to the community.”
“And that’s what I hope and I expect this new board to do,” Bugg said.
Saville, however, said the issue the city is currently facing with the appointments in terms of representation has to do with the size of the ACCA board.
Aurora is considerably larger than when the Aurora Civic Center Authority was first established, Saville said, and he thinks the board “does not reflect (Aurora’s) population” because of its size of only nine members.
So, he suggested the city work with the state of Illinois to give Aurora the authority to increase the number of board members, so that the city can be “more inclusive and make sure everyone has a voice.” And, in the meantime, Saville said he thinks the matter should go back to the committee level for the purposes of creating an ACCA advisory board.
In response to Saville’s suggestion, Laesch said he doesn’t have a problem with considering the possibility of changing the number of board members. But that would take time, he said at the Tuesday meeting, indicating his interest in still moving the proposed appointments forward. The City Council approved the appointments later in the meeting.
“With respect to this set of appointments,” Laesch said, “I think that we’ve done our best to maintain continuity of the old board and new board. … And we’ve done our best to diversify, and we’ve done our best to make sure that there’s both financial oversight and unique and new fundraising ideas coming to the table.”
And, to Saville’s suggestion of creating an advisory board, Laesch said he was more in favor of “adjusting the role of” the city’s existing Music, Events, and Entertainment Commission rather than adding another board.