When will Schaumburg resume cultural events, reinstate furloughed workers?
Schaumburg officials will begin discussions Feb. 1 on when they might resume the village's popular series of cultural events and reinstate the staff that oversees them.
It was in midsummer that 26 employees of the village's cultural services department - eight full-time and the rest part-time - were furloughed indefinitely after 30 days' notice. The department plans the village's special events and the programming at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts, which was shut down in March.
Mayor Tom Dailly is among the officials hoping Schaumburg will be able to hold many of its traditional special events in 2021, including the volunteer of the year luncheon in April, the Prairie Arts Festival in May, the Summer Breeze concert series, and especially Septemberfest over Labor Day weekend.
Lingering questions include when will they be deemed safe and how much preparation time the cultural services department will require to resume a slate of events that draw attendees from across the suburbs.
"Right now, let's face it, we're all waiting for the distribution of the vaccine," Dailly said. "I keep saying April is the earliest it will get to the general public."
The cultural services department workers are the only village employees furloughed due to the pandemic. But their absence is keenly felt, Dailly said.
"We want these functions back," he said. "Culture is part of Schaumburg's fabric. It's one thing that does bind people together."
With a revenue stream largely dependent on the health of the economy, Schaumburg has experienced significant financial losses in 2020. But a six-month shutdown of the Prairie Center and the cancellation of Septemberfest was projected to save the village $1.1 million.
Although no firm dates have yet been set for the reinstatement of cultural events, the staff may be pulled in as needed to assist with planning and execution as individual programs are identified to move forward, Schaumburg Communications & Outreach Director Allison Albrecht said.