Des Plaines Theatre operator cancels Awake Illinois event after outcry

“What saddens me was the amount of hate that surfaced during all of this,” Onesti Entertainment CEO Ron Onesti said.

By The Daily Herald

Updated

The marquee outside the Des Plaines Theatre — An event sponsored by conservative groups called “Out of the Echo Chamber: Coalition for Kids” was scheduled for Feb. 8 at the Des Plaines Theatre but has been called off.

The company that operates the Des Plaines Theatre has canceled a Feb. 8 event booked at the city-owned venue by conservative groups after LGBTQ advocates encouraged the city to stop it.

Onesti Entertainment CEO Ron Onesti did not explicitly give a reason for the cancellation in a statement Thursday night, but he referred to the controversy and suggested he and the theater received threats.

“What saddens me was the amount of hate that surfaced during all of this,” he wrote. “People mailing bullets to me, asking their neighbors to fill my garbage cans with dog feces, countless hateful calls and outwardly targeting the Des Plaines Theatre, wishing its demise. And how would that have been good for the community?”

On Wednesday he had defended leasing the venue to the group that’s been criticized for making queerphobic social media posts and other controversial statements. That came after LGBTQ advocates criticized the groups behind the Feb. 8 event — especially DuPage County-based Awake Illinois — and some of the scheduled speakers.

Onesti described himself as a proponent of the First Amendment and said Awake Illinois has the right to hold meetings and discuss the issues it pleases. “It’s not for me to be judge and jury,” Onesti said.

Several city officials, including Mayor Andrew Goczkowski, said they shared audience members’ concerns about the event but said they couldn’t demand that Onesti cancel the gathering. But he and other officials also said they’d seek to talk with Onesti about the types of events and groups the theater hosts.

“There’s no place for politics in a building that’s publicly owned,” Goczkowski said.

Called ”Out of the Echo Chamber: Coalition for Kids,” the event was open to anyone for a $5 donation. Awake Illinois’ website described the event as “a diverse group of advocates (gathering) together to transform the conversation on issues affecting children.”

The speaker lineup included Jaimee Michell, founder of a group called Gays Against Groomers; Stephanie Trussell, recent Republican candidate for lieutenant governor; Shannon Adcock, founder of Awake Illinois and a leader of Moms for Liberty DuPage; and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Dubiel.

Awake has railed against suburban drag events, medical treatments for transgender youth and the state’s new sex education standards, among other topics.