Throughout EDC Chicago 30 fans were hospitalized, 100 ecstasy pills were seized and 12 people were arrested. That however won’t stop EDC Chicago’s expected return to Nascar Speedway in 2014, mainly due to the strong showing of logic from the local Joliet government.
Insomniac worked with Joliet ever step of the way, paying an estimated $1 million to stagehands, police and fire personnel while the 65,000 headliners who attended the festival booked every hotel in the area and packed local restaurants.
Even though the number of people injured is low (.04%), we typically see people up in arms looking to ban and outlaw electronic events. EDC Chicago brought in over 100 noise complaints as well, and that was more than enough to ban Harbor City Festival from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina earlier this year.
But as I’ve noted on here before, the local government in Joliet seems to recognize the opportunity, understand what it can do for the community and realize that that they can work with Insomniac to address the concerns of the public.
When a city council member warned Joliet city manager Thomas Thanas that it would be nothing more than a “collassal rave synonymous with drugs” he responded,
“Will stuff happen? Yes it will. But, do you really want me turning away hundreds of thousands of dollars….? Unless we are ready to start looking at tax hikes, I need to keep bringing in new revenue opportunities, especially if we have the right facility for the event.”
After the event, the same council member rescinded his opinion saying that the festival went on “smooth as silk” aside from the noise problems.
The local Joliet government realizes that while they still have to work with Insomniac to address a few issues next year, that given the size of the event, the trouble they experienced was limited to a very small portion of the population.
It’s positive forward thinking that we don’t see very often. Given the information on hospitalizations and drug incidents lead council member John Gerl to say,
Good kids do dumb things. We ant to help them avoid those types of things that can affect them for a lifetime.
We have to agree.
(via Chicago Tribune)
More on WRR:
- Win tickets to Kaskade 6-hour set at TAO
- EDC Chicago Reviewed by WRR
- Watch Mat Zo call out will.i.steal at EDCLV
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