Firm that set up Rosemont conventions for decades dissolves
Rosemont has formally ended its contractual relationship with Rosemont Exposition Services, which set up trade shows for four decades at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
The contract termination, approved this week by the village board, comes on the heels of the company's dissolution and retirement of principals Dave Houston and Bob Langer.
Trade show setup and takedown services will now be brought in-house at the convention center, more so than they already were. RES, which had an office at the convention center, had the exclusive contract with village hall since the early 1980s.
Mayor Brad Stephens said the long-term arrangement was seen as a way for the village to control costs as two other trade show firms controlled most of the market.
The contract termination came with a $6.5 million buyout payment from Rosemont to RES, mostly to cover the firm's remaining obligations to two labor union pension funds.
The smaller portion of the buyout represents the 12 years remaining on the current agreement between the village and company, at $130,000 a year.
"We think that's a bargain, and for the tens of thousands of dollars RES has generated over at the convention center over the years, we think it's fair and just," Stephens said.
The village got 75% of RES' net profits, under terms of the contract.
As part of the transition, the village will hire some 15 to 18 RES employees, from account executives to print shop staff, and work with third-party contractors in carpentry, electricity and plumbing who will bring on laborers to set up shows as needed.
The village also inked contracts with seven trade unions representing Teamsters, carpenters, riggers, plumbers, decorators, stagehands and projectionists. The agreements mirror terms the unions had in contracts with RES, Stephens said.
Village Trustee Steve Price, who worked for RES as the carpenters' foreman, recused himself from the otherwise unanimous village board vote to terminate the contract Monday.
The mayor's wife, Suzi, is one of the former RES account executives who will become a village employee, he confirmed.
The staff will report to Grant Bailey, who was named director of convention services, and had been the assistant general manager at the convention center.
Houston's retirement comes at the same time he steps down as the longtime chair of the Rosemont Voters League, the political organization that recruits and supports candidates for local offices. He will remain an appointed member of the village zoning board.