Chicago Filmmakers and the Reeling Film Festival—the second-oldest gay movie event of its kind in the nation—were robbed on the night of Nov. 12.
In an e-mail, Brenda Webb, executive director of Chicago Filmmakers, informed people of the unfortunate incident. In addition, she mentioned that the perpetrator ( s ) took unprocessed credit card slips, specifically for festival tickets bought at the door at Chicago Filmmakers and for Reeling's opening-night showing at The Music Box, 3733 N. Southport.
Webb told Windy City Times that there was no sign of a break-in. 'Sunday night, we finished up the [ Reeling ] event and several volunteers were helping us load up stuff. Patrick had put the money in the locked cabinet and went over to the event. We left out the front door, and I actually checked the back door to make sure it was locked.
'On Monday morning [ Nov. 13 ] , the guy who does film print deliveries for us asked us, 'Hey, did you know your [ back ] door was open?' It was slightly ajar—but I knew I had checked it the night before. I thought that that was weird. So, Patrick checked the cabinet, where the money was kept; it was still locked. There was no sign of forced entry.' [ The money was stolen and the cabinet apparently had been re-locked. ]
Webb, who estimated that about $5,000 was taken, told Windy City Times that a lot of people had been in the office so that it could have been an inside job; however, it is also possible that a stranger could have lied in wait until an opportune moment. 'It's pretty demoralizing. If the door had been broken down, I could've been pissed off. It's very sad to think that it could've been someone who sees how hard we work...,' a choked-up Webb said. 'We have so many great, hard-working volunteers. I'd hate for them to feel bad. [ I don't want them to think ] that suspicions are cast over them.'
Webb, who plans to tighten security measures at the office, wishes that the person ( s ) 'would develop a guilty conscience and turn the money in. Everyone here works really hard. It's emotionally devastating for someone to do this.'
Webb urged individuals who bought tickets in either situation to watch for unauthorized purchases. In addition, she asked those who do not see credit-card charges connected with the event to contact the organization at 773-293-1447.
Despite what occurred, she refuses to be dragged down. 'As a non-profit organization, this is a huge loss ... [ but ] we will not let this incident spoil the memories we have of this wonderful event,' Webb stated.