Emanuel Wants To Do More To Promote Arts
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- As a former ballet dancer, Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday that he'd like to do more to integrate the arts into the lives of Chicagoans.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports that Emanuel talked about some of his ideas for promoting the arts during the taping of an interview on WXRT-FM on Tuesday.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports
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The incoming mayor said that, just as Chicago has a downtown theater district, he'd like to see the creation of an Uptown music district.
"You have the Riv (Riviera), you have Aragon, you have Double Door ... We have a downtown theater district. Should there be an Uptown music district?" he said.
Emanuel said he wants to do more for the arts in Chicago's neighborhoods.
"Take the Old Town School of Folk Music. On Lincoln Avenue, prior to that entity, it was not a place that was growing economically," Emanuel said. "The success of an institution is not because there's more restaurants and bars. Yet it anchored that community."
In that interview, Emanuel -- an avid music fan -- revealed some of his favorite performers, from the Smashing Pumpkins to Wilco to the Rolling Stones. He also said he's currently reading Keith Richards' memoir.
You can hear more of the interview on WXRT on Wednesday.
