Big Chicago Arts Entities Feel Pinch From Boom-Time Borrowing

Some of Chicago’s biggest cultural institutions are dealing with the fallout of risky financial bets on major expansions in the previous decade and are raising ticket prices or slashing jobs as they struggle with debt, the Chicago Tribune says.

The article notes staff and spending at the Field Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, price hikes at the Chicago History Museum, and last year’s strike by Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians as effects of the spending boom.

While the recession and reduced government support have also buffeted big museums and performing groups, experts say multimillion-dollar borrowing based on poor risk assessment is playing a major role in culture groups’ struggles.