|
|
Article: JOLIET: CITY OF THE ARTS | BEAUTIFICATION: PUBLIC ART ADDS TO COMMUNITY
- Article from:
- Herald-News (Joliet, IL)
- Article date:
- May 14, 2000
CopyrightCopyright (c) 2000 Herald-News. (Hide copyright information)
|
JOLIET -- The city of Joliet paid $500,000 for public art in the past decade and this year's budget is bigger than ever at $181,000.
Like many city beautification programs, the art boom is directly linked to riverboat gambling money flowing into city coffers.
The more people gamble, the prettier the city will look.
If gambling revenue disappeared or the economy took a turn for the worse, art funds would dry up as well.
The program began as a way to save money while beautifying viaducts.
In recent years, however, it has grown and expanded into a program of art for art's sake, not just camouflage for barren walls in blighted areas.
The bulk of the money has gone to one art group in town that ...