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Volunteer protests ban from Joliet Area Historical Museum; councilors say museum board acted independently
Summary
A volunteer and gift-shop manager said she and others were wrongfully banned from the Joliet Area Historical Museum; she sought council help and offered to present an exhibit recording; the mayor and council liaison said the museum is board-managed and the city does not control museum staffing decisions.
Christine Johnson, who identified herself as a volunteer and gift shop manager at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66, spoke during public comments on Oct. 19 about a ban from the Joliet Area Historical Museum and its Old Joliet Prison property.
Johnson said she and six others were banned from museum properties on July 1 and called the action unjust and wrongful. She said the museum — which manages the Old Joliet Prison site — acted contrary to the museum’s public-history mission. Johnson offered to present a recording of her dismissal and suggested the council could review the recording publicly or in a closed session; the mayor said the recording had already been included in the inspector general’s report and advised handling personnel issues outside the public record.
Mayor Terry Darcy and at least one council member noted that the museum is a separate entity with its own board of directors and that the city does provide funding to the museum but does not manage its volunteer/staff decisions. The council liaison to the museum said she attempted to contact Greg Prebould and found the board unreceptive; council members encouraged Johnson to meet with the mayor’s office to discuss the matter further.
No formal council action, investigation directive or vote was taken at the meeting. The item remained a public comment request for follow-up and possible private meeting with city officials.
