Revisiting the Chicago Cultural Plan

Michael Dorf

October 4, 2011 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Harris School of Public Policy Studies
1155 E. 60th St.
Room 289B

Michael C. Dorf, Director of the original Chicago Cultural Plan; partner at Adducci, Dorf, Lehner, Mitchell & Blankenship, P.C.; Adjunct Full Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

In one of his first acts as Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel has directed the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events to revisit the Chicago Cultural Plan, developed under the Harold Washington Administration in the mid 1980s, and prepare a new plan to "create new strategies that promote vibrant arts and cultural hubs in every community and help to anchor economic growth on every side of the city." The Chicago Cultural Plan was a nationally praised document, and marked the first time in any major city that grassroots organizing was used as the basis for cultural planning. Michael C. Dorf, Director of the original Chicago Cultural Plan, will discuss the politics and process of creating a cultural plan for a city, and the likely results of Mayor Emanuel's new planning efforts.

Michael C. Dorf is a partner in the Chicago law firm Adducci, Dorf, Lehner, Mitchell & Blankenship, P.C., and Adjunct Full Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to his work on the Chicago Cultural Plan, he served as Special Counsel to the late Congressman Sidney R. Yates, formulating policies for the National Endowment for the Arts and other federal cultural organizations. He also acted as Legal Affairs Consultant to the presidentially appointed Independent Commission reviewing the policies of the NEA during the 1990's and was a Co-Convenor of President Obama's Arts Policy Task Force during the 2008 presidential campaign. Michael is a member of the board of Arts Alliance Illinois, the Illinois Humanities Council, and has recently been appointed by Governor Pat Quinn as a member of the Illinois Community College Board.