Chicago Park District board urged to repeal Art Institute admission hike

Accusing the Art Institute of stonewalling aldermanic demands for information, a City Council committee urged the Chicago Park District board today to repeal a 50 percent increase in museum admission fees.

The increase scheduled to take effect May 23 would raise the Art Institute’s admission fee from $12-a-person to $18.

Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) had initially planned to hold the museum’s feet to the fire by cutting off the free water spigot and other public subsidies to museums that charge more than $10 for admission.

Those subsidies from Chicago taxpayers alone — for water, sewer, license and permit fees — have topped $480,000 since 2006.

But, the City Council’s most powerful alderman shifted gears after Art Institute President James Cuno was “largely non-responsive” to Burke’s three letters demanding information that included the current value of the museum’s collection of artwork and who insures it.

Instead, Burke pushed through a resolution demanding that the park board rescind the increase.

“If they’re spending $5.6 million in fund-raising at the Art Institute, taxpayers ought to know whether or not $5.6 million is going for champagne parties like AIG was hosting in California,” Burke told his colleagues at Monday’s Finance Committee meeting.

“Now, if they want to be a private institution and do whatever they want, that's fine. Once they start taking taxpayers' money, it's a different story."

Striking a chord with his black and Hispanic colleagues, Burke noted that only two of the 44 voting members of the Art Institute's board of directors are African-American and that the museum has never used a minority underwriting firm.

"Before approval of these increases should be granted, policies at the Art Insitute ought to be examined. Their record of diversity ought to be a subject of public discussion. Their refusal to comply with reasonable requests for information ought not be permitted to be so cavalier. ... In fact, hubris in my opinion," he said.

The Art Institute released a statement touting the 401 free hours it offers each year "at times most convenient" to Chicagoans.

The change from one weekly free day to free evenings was made in response to complaints that working Chicagoans and families with school-aged kids were finding it difficult to take advantage of the free day. The change has resulted in a 21 percent increase in free patrons.

"More than 300,000 visitors came to our free hours last year, more than half of whom were Chicagoans. In our free month of February alone, when tourists are least likely to be in Chicago, we hosted 150,000 people,” the statement said.

Museum officials attended today’s Finance Committee meeting, but were not asked to speak, the statement said.

“The response by Ald. Burke to the practices and commitment of the museum is dismaying,” the museum said.