A Chicago Park District panel recently approved an admission fee hike for the city’s Art Institute. On February 1, 2013 prices for adult visitors who are residents of Chicago will potentially climb from $16 to $18 and admission for out-of-state patrons will jump from $18 to $23. Chicago’s Committee on Programs and Recreation also approved the fee increase and the district’s full board is expected to pass the hike this afternoon. The Art Institute hasn’t raised its admission prices since 2009.
Art Institute officials said that the admission fee increase would help compensate for the rising costs experienced by any organization over time. For example, the museum now pays about $200,000 a year for water usage and sewer maintenance, utilities that used to be covered by the city of Chicago.
Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry is also facing an admission fee increase, which has been approved by both the Chicago Park District panel and the Committee on Programs and Recreation. The Science and Industry raise would see prices go from $13 to $15 for city residents and from $15 to $18 for non-residents.
