very depressing note from dee alexander

[alocispepraluger102]

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Rossignol Entertainment Newsletter

SAVE CHICAGO CULTURE

MAY 2008

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Greetings!

This information was forwarded to me and I would like to forward it to you. Please take action to protect the music and entertainment scene that so many of us depend on for our livelihood! Please take action NOW!!! Thank you!!

SAVE CHICAGO CULTURE

Dear Friends,

Please take a moment to read the info below. The City

of Chicago is trying to pass an ordinance that will

greatly affect EVERYONE who works in the bar,

nightclub and entertainment industry, would put many

people completely out of business, and ruin the live

music and entertainment scene in Chicago ! Unless

enough signatures are collected to protest this by

this Wed. 5/14, (in just two days) it will be passed.

Please take a moment to sign the petition, all you

have to do is go to the website and post a comment.

Every voice counts now.

Thank you for your support,

Melissa Brown

PLEASE - take the time to read this...and to pass it

on to everyone and anyone you know who may be affected

by this (which, in Chicago , is ANYONE who enjoys live

music and entertainment!)

Sign the petition at:

(PLEASE CUT & PASTE INTO YOUR BROWSER THE LINK BELOW)

http://savechicagoculture.org/

***JUST GO TO THE LINK ABOVE, AND POST A COMMENT, IT

CAN BE BRIEF. To view the entire ordinance, go to

Jim DeRogatis's blog on the Sun Times website

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Stop the promoter's ordinance!

Imagine a Chicago with no Metro or Double Door or

Schuba's. Imagine a

Chicago with no Royal George or Bailiwick or

Athenaeum. Imagine a

Chicago where local music is only heard in the suburbs

and theater is

limited to Wicked and Jersey Boys.

Scary thoughts. But if the City of Chicago 's City

Council doesn't

hear your voice by Wednesday, May 14, they'll become

reality.

On that date the council will vote to approve an

ordinance that has

the power to stifle creativity in Chicago 's musical,

theatrical, and

general cultural scenes. With no public discourse or

commentary, this

proposal has been approved by the City Council

Committee and is on the

fast track to be pushed into law. It is up to us to

let our elected

officials know that Chicago 's creative scene is too

rich, too varied,

and too vital to be regulated in such a blanket

fashion.

The details:

The "Event Promoters" ordinance requires any event

promoter to have a

license from the city of Chicago and liability

insurance of $300,000,

but that's just the start:

-The definition of "event promoter" is so loosely

defined it could

apply to a band that books its own shows or a theater

company that's

in town for a one-week run.

-"Event Promoter" must be licensed and will pay $500 -

$2000

depending on expected audience size.

-To get the license, applicant must be over 21, get

fingerprinted,

submit to a background check, and jump over several

other hurdles.

-This ordinance seems targeted towards smaller venues,

since those

with 500+ permanent seats are exempt.

-Police must be notified at least 7 days in advance of

event.

-For the complete ordinance, check out Jim DeRogatis'

blog on the

Chicago Sun-Times.

We are collecting signatures to present to the council

voicing our

opposition to this ordinance. YOUR VOICE IS NECESSARY

TO ENSURE

CHICAGO 'S CULTURAL SCENE CONTINUES TO THRIVE. Please

leave a comment

as your expression of disapproval. These will be

presented to the City

Council and to all Chicago Aldermen prior to

Wednesday's vote.

Thank you for helping to protect Chicago 's Culture.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/

Edited May 13, 2008 by alocispepraluger102

[Ken Dryden]

Chicago Aldermen have a long history of being dim bulbs about economics, like the tax that was aimed solely at big box stores (even though the aldermen and their staffs shopped such stores outside Chicago while denouncing big box stores to the media). Perhaps they don't realize how much income events generate for the city. A rock concert in a baseball stadium is one thing, but this requirement would work against typical club bookings.

[Jazzmoose]

Unbelievable. They come up with a system that only the big boys can afford, and then exempt places with 500+ seats? This goes beyond stupid into the area of willfully malicious.

[alocispepraluger102]

UPDATE: Promoter's ordinance tabled (for now)

Following a nearly unprecedented outpouring of concern from the Chicago music community and a meeting with activists and some of the top concert promoters and venue owners in Chicago, Ald. Eugene Schulter, chairman of the City Council License Committee, decided on Tuesday that he will not present the so-called "event promoter's ordinance" to the full council for a vote on Wednesday -- and that the committee will go back to work on fine-tuning the law.

Schulter, several other aldermen and representatives of the city Department of Business Affairs & Licensing met with members of the Chicago Music Commission, Metro owner Joe Shanahan, Jam Productions talent booker Nick Miller, Martyr's owner Ray Quinn and Double Door co-owner Sean Mulroney Tuesday morning, a day before the law was expected to be passed by the City Council.

Made aware of concerns in many corners of Chicago's arts communities, Schulter asked DBA for more facts and figures about the alleged "problem venues" and "underground promoters" that the ordinance was designed to curtail. Some of those who attended the meeting said DBA had to admit that it had no hard information and that it has not formally studied the extent of the alleged problem that the law was crafted to address; they had only the anecdotal evidence of the single tragic incident at the E2 Nightclub five years ago.

The law will return to committee for more work and public input before a council vote is considered again. Schulter told the meeting he expects that process will take at least a month.

"We are not sure when it will come out of committee for a vote, but we hope that Chairman Schulter will wait

until he and the city have engaged the music community publicly and meaningfully so their concerns can be heard and hopefully incorporated into the eventual law," said Chicago Music Commission board member Bruce Iglauer.

"We are pleased that Chairman Schulter has responded to community concerns here, and we look forward to working with him, members of the Committee, DBA staff and other music community stakeholders to come up with a workable version of the ordinance."

"I feel that the cultural aspects of the city sent a message that something was in trouble in the music world over the weekend, and I feel the city listened today," Shanahan said. "People are starting to take the music community seriously. Now we have to roll up our sleeves and come up with some reasonable rules, because this isn't over."

[Jazzmoose]

Good news; thanks for the update. Sometimes when a kneejerk reaction occurs, someone's just gotta reach out and grab that knee!

[rpklich]

One of the better observers of Chicago politics is Ben Joravsky. (His articles on TIFs are scary at times.) He's written about Daley's latest taxing venture and what to expect in the Chicago Reader:

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/