Al Curtis, the operations manager for the Skokie Theatre Music Foundation (the nonprofit that runs the venue) says, “The bank really is in possession of the theatre.” The mortgage on the theatre ended up with Town Community Bank and Trust in Antioch, Illinois, and that bank was closed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on January 15, 2010. Town Community is now owned and operated as a branch of First American Bank.

The theatre’s problems were apparent before Town Community went belly up, says Curtis. The building is in receivership, and foreclosure is the next step unless a buyer steps forward. “The bank decided that the only way that we could sell the place is to keep it open,” says Curtis. But the bank won't hold off forever.

The Skokie Theatre Music Foundation, originally known as the Cavalcade of Music Foundation (which formed in 2002), took over the former movie theatre in 2004 from Jim Burrows, who also ran the old 3 Penny movie theatre in Lincoln Park. (That venue is now a live music theatre, Lincoln Hall and is apparently doing well.) After a $1.5 million renovation, the 140-seat Skokie venue reopened as a showcase for live music in 2006, focusing on jazz, cabaret, and various variety/theatrical acts, such as the “Acro-Cats.” The ambience of the venue has won raves. In a July 30 piece on the theatre’s woes, Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich called it “an unusually intimate, acoustically pristine space.”

But like so many other venues, Skokie Theatre has had a drop in box office revenues since the recession. “When you lose 10 people a night, you’re losing about $15,000 a year,” says Curtis. “And it’s more like 25 or 30 people a night.” The other problem, he says, is that “some of the grants we had basically dried up.” Curtis estimates that the operating costs for the theatre, apart from the mortgage, come to about $100,000 per year. “We’re all on part-time,” he says of the theatre staff. “I’ve reduced what I was taking, obviously, considerably. And the people who were helping me have reduced their costs.”

What hasn’t been reduced is the schedule. Skokie is still producing a full roster of acts, and Curtis says, “We are a cooperative house where the artists are partners.” Some of the artists have kicked back part of their fees, according to Curtis, in an effort to assist the struggling venue.

What the Skokie is doing now is raising money through a new entity—the North Suburban Business Development Foundation of the Skokie Chamber of Commerce, a 501c 3 organization. “If we don’t use [the funds we raise] at the theatre [in the event of foreclosure], it will be used in the community,” says Curtis.

No viable buyer has yet come forward, but Curtis also notes that the village of Skokie would love to see the theatre (which doesn’t have landmark status) remain open. And according to Curtis, “There are a whole bunch of rules with the village if somebody wants to turn it into something other than a theatre.” However, the clock is ticking. “I would think that from what I’ve been seeing, we’ll probably close around October 15 if we don’t have it resolved,” says Curtis.

If you are interested in donating to the Skokie, send checks made payable to: N.S.B.D.F of the S.C. of C (put “Skokie Theatre” in memo line), Skokie Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 106, Skokie, IL 60077.