Aurora Mayor John Laesch has proposed a new slate of board members to lead the Paramount Theatre and other related entertainment venues in the city.
The proposed appointments are said to represent Laesch’s vision for the future of the Aurora Civic Center Authority — which is that it will offer more diverse programming, and that it will be more financially stable. The organization owns the Paramount Theatre, the Copley Theatre, Paramount School of the Arts and North Island Center, plus it manages the city-owned RiverEdge Park and Stolp Island Theatre.
But some aldermen, after the picks were presented to the Aurora City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, seemed concerned about the mayor’s proposed appointments, or about his rationale behind them — particularly as it related to fundraising and the push for more diverse programming.
Laesch has proposed six people be appointed to the nine-member Aurora Civic Center Authority board: four new appointees and two reappointments. One of his goals was to provide continuity with “seasoned, experienced members” while also bringing in “new voices that will better represent the demographics of Aurora,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting.
The four new appointees are Juan Sifuentes, Diane Lantz, Nastasha Prunty and Christopher Childress, according to a presentation by Deputy Chief of Staff Nicholas Richard-Thompson. The picks would seemingly replace former board members John Savage, Mike Baum, Chris Weber and Cynthia Latimer.
Sifuentes is currently the chair of the East Aurora School Board. According to Thompson, he is a “community-rooted bilingual leader” who is needed for the Civic Center Authority to “authentically reach Latino audiences and expand its community impact” — but he also has experience in managing a budget and in acquiring talent.
Lantz is a “proven municipal finance expert,” Thompson said. She retired as the executive director of Illinois Government Finance Officers Association, he said, and she previously served as Elk Grove’s assistant finance director.
She’s also a frequent patron of the Paramount, and spoke highly of it, according to Thompson.
Prunty is a “nationally-recognized creative director” who has “elevated Black art and entertainment across the region,” he said. She’s also a veteran, he noted, and president of Gospel Morale and Entertainment.
Childress is a philanthropic business leader with a “track record of generating large-scale revenue,” and so he will help the Aurora Civic Center Authority “pursue bold, alternative revenue streams essential for future stability,” the presentation said. Although Childress isn’t a resident, he is the co-founder of Progressive Business Solutions and frequents the Paramount, Thompson said.
The two board members who are proposed to be reappointed are Gina Moga and Jonathan Hylton. Moga is a retired special events manager and is dedicated to Aurora, Thompson said, while Hylton has 25 years of investment advisory experience so provides “vital oversight.”
A public reception for the proposed new board members will be held at the Aurora City Council’s next meeting on June 9. Aldermen still need to vote to confirm Laesch’s appointments, which could happen at the City Council’s June 23 meeting.
Already on the board and staying there are Brian Caputo, Tim Hoppa and Philip Van Leer.
Caputo is the city’s chief operating officer. He was the city’s chief financial officer from 1998 to 2017, and he’s also served as president of the College of DuPage, among other roles.
Hoppa is staying on the board for a year, Laesch said, as the city works behind the scenes to find a potential replacement.
Philip Van Leer was appointed to the Aurora Civic Center Authority board by Laesch late last year. Aurora born and raised, he’s been a professional actor and director for over 45 years, and he’s appeared in TV shows such as “Prison Break,” “Chicago Fire” and “Empire,” according to a city news release from December.
The proposed Aurora Civic Center Authority board would be the “most diverse, community-connected and strategically skilled” ever, Thompson said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We intend to expand Aurora’s rich cultural experience while maintaining the success that the Paramount and ACCA affiliates have had,” Laesch said.
But Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, questioned the mayor’s proposed “change in direction” for the Aurora Civic Center Authority. The organization currently creates a large economic impact, he said, particularly for downtown businesses.
“If we can do diversity with some of the programs and still create the revenue we need, wonderful. I just don’t know. It’s an experiment,” Franco said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The ask for more diverse programming is coming from the community, according to Laesch. So, he wants to respond and represent the community, he said.
Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, pushed back against Laesch’s assertion that the Paramount’s programming hasn’t been diverse. Not every show will be for every person, she said.
Franco was concerned about the proposed candidates’ abilities to fundraise, too. What will happen, he asked, if fundraising dries up and the city is unwilling to give the organization more money, like the mayor has been in the past.
It has been the practice, if not an actual written requirement, of Aurora Civic Center Authority board members to either contribute funds themselves to the organization or bring in outside funding, according to Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward.
“The reason for the appointments was always because they’ve had connections in the community that could help raise funds,” Saville said.
Laesch said that part of the reason for appointing new people with financial backgrounds is so that they start asking questions, such as potentially looking at prices, that will also lead to financial stability.
Based on rumors he heard in the community, Franco asked Laesch if it was his intention to put people on the board who would remove Aurora Civic Center Authority President and CEO Tim Rater. Laesch said it was “absolutely not” his intention, that Rater is doing a “great job,” and that they are “building a great relationship together.”
Rater even had a hand in picking out the proposed board members, Laesch said.
“I think what you’re trying to present here is that we have to go one way or the other,” he said. “I’m saying, we can continue with the successful path we’ve been on — that Tim’s put us on — and chart a new course that reaches the rest of the community.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
