Joliet City Council liaison to Rialto has theater insurance business, too

Council member Mudron’s firm got business, Rialto chairman said theater faced loss of coverage

Councilman Pat Mudron discusses tabling a vote on liquor licenses on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at Joliet City Hall in Joliet, Ill. The Joliet City Council discussed an amendment to allow for liquor consumption and video gambling at gas stations.

The Joliet councilman who serves as the city’s liaison to the Rialto Square Theatre also has the theater’s insurance business.

Council member Pat Mudron’s firm, Mudron Kane Insurance, sold a Cincinnati Insurance policy with a $247,000 premium to the Rialto in April.

Mudron’s firm got the business without any public request for proposals, although the Rialto board’s chairman said there was “a competitive process” between Mudron Kane, and the broker that previously handled the theater’s insurance.

The sun sets over the Rialto Square Theatre on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Joliet, Ill.

“They both went out and spoke to a number of insurance companies,” Rialto board Chairman Robert Fillotto said,

Filotto said the Rialto was looking at a $446,000 premium on a competing policy without being fully covered and at one time faced the prospect of no insurance at all. The Rialto had been paying a $75,000 premium on commercial property, general liability, umbrella insurance and other coverage, Filotto said. He said the policy obtained through Mudron Kane provided the same coverage as the Rialto previously had.

Members of the new Rialto Square Theater board convene first time since being appointed by Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, in Joliet, Ill. Robert Filotto (right), an accountant who owns Filotto Professional Services in Joliet, was elected as the board's chairman.

“When we began to hear earlier this year that our coverage probably would not be renewed or it would be renewed at a significant increase in premium, I reached out to Pat, and I said, ‘Pat, can you help us?” Filotto said.

Mudron has been the council’s liaison to the Rialto since he was first elected to the council in 2015.

He attends Rialto board meetings, but does not vote. He advises the board, and minutes from past meetings show Mudron joined discussions about the insurance issue in January when Filotto advised the board that its policy may not be renewed because the theater does not have a sprinkler system.

Although Mudron does not vote on the Rialto board, he does vote on the city budget, which includes an annual contribution to the theater that has ranged between $375,000 and $475,000 in recent years. The city votes on the budget in December, and Mudron said there have been no votes involving the Rialto since April.

Mudron also provides the council with information about Rialto matters and serves as a go-between with the city on issues that affect both entities.

“I did not solicit this business. They solicited me,” Mudron said when asked about the policy. “I feel I have no conflict.”

But Mudron said he referred the Rialto business to his son, Shamus, to handle. Mudron and his son are two of the owners of Mudron Kane Insurance.

“I felt I shouldn’t be that hands-on with this,” he said.

Mudron acknowledged that even if he did not personally handle the Rialto business, he shares in the financial benefit as a fellow owner in Mudron Kane.

He would have to recuse himself from City Council votes involving the Rialto and disclose why, Mudron said.

While the insurance issue started coming to a head in January, the Rialto knew before the COVID-19 pandemic that it eventually could lose coverage because the theater does not have a sprinkler system, Filotto said.

“COVID hit, and we went dark for 18 months, and it became sort of a non-issue,” Filotto said.

There is a possibility that the Rialto could again change policies before the current coverage is up for renewal, Filotto said.

The theater has been been seeking professional services for improvements planned at the Rialto through a public Request for Qualifications process, and one of the firms that responded had indicated it could help with insurance.

“We can cancel the (Cincinnati) policy and take another policy,” he said. “I have no idea if that’s going to pan out.”