Conservative group’s event canceled at Des Plaines Theatre amid opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates. Venue operator says he was threatened.
Ron Onesti, who runs and rents out the Des Plaines Theater owned by the city, stands outside by the theater’s marque in Des Plaines on Jan. 19, 2023.
The city owns the theater, but it is operated by Ron Onesti, president and CEO of Onesti Entertainment. Onesti told the Tribune that he didn’t seek out and doesn’t know the people in Naperville-based Awake Illinois, but supports free speech, and would have rented the venue out to pro-LGBTQ groups as well.“I do not take sides,” Onesti said in a written statement. “What saddens me was the amount of hate that surfaced during all of this.
Des Plaines Mayor Andrew Koczkowski said he wouldn’t have scheduled the event, but that the city could not infringe on the First Amendment right to free speech.
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