Money Talks
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Valkanas, executive director of the Illinois Arts Alliance, had been held up by something dear to the heart of everyone in the room: the just-released details of Governor Blagojevich’s proposed budget. In spite of Illinois’ deficit of almost $5 billion, IAA lobbied to maintain or increase arts spending, which last year amounted to $1.50 for every resident of the state. That didn’t happen. Instead, Valkanas reported, Blagojevich wants to reduce Illinois Arts Council funding from $19.6 million to $18.5 million. “That is unacceptable to us–we will continue to campaign for $2 a person,” she added. “But that being said, it could have been considerably worse. We weren’t singled out, it’s not disproportionate to cuts made in other areas.” The audience exhaled in unison and Katz congratulated Valkanas, confiding that in comparison to the carnage in other states, “you’ve done very well.”
According to Katz, the motives of powerful people are simple. Do they want to make the world a better place? Sure. But more than that, “they want to maintain and increase their power” and “be loved and respected by people they care about. To the extent you can help them do that, they will talk with you.” When they do, “have fact-based communications. You have to be able to say here’s the difference that cutting a thousand dollars makes, and here’s the difference that adding a thousand dollars makes. Position the arts to solve problems. And if you can express it with jobs, economic activity, that’s the best.”
