Chicago is My Home

06
May

Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago Fraught With Cash Troubles

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – Two years ago, a lack of funding brought construction on the new Chicago site of the Museum of Broadcast Communications at Kinzie Street and State Street to a halt. This week, millions in unpaid bills brought the museum a foreclosure lawsuit.

Pepper Construction Co. says it was paid just $2.9 million after completing $7.3 million in work when the general contractor stopped construction in 2006.

Museum founder Bruce DuMont has not disputed that Pepper Construction is owed money. He says he’s hoping a benefactor will recognize the opportunity of having the naming rights of a building on State Street and donate the necessary funds.

DuMont also says that when the project was originally introduced, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich promised as much as $8 million in state funds that has never materialized. The governor’s office has not commented on the stalled project or its funding.

By Megan O’Neil