Will County Gazette

For years, the beloved KidsWork Children's Museum — a vibrant hub that drew up to 40,000 visitors annually to the Frankfort’s historic downtown — quietly lobbied Mayor Keith Ogle and the village administrator to be absorbed as a municipal entity prior to its August closure, according to the museum's president. 

The museum, a proven revenue-generating nonprofit, offered to become a financially self-sustaining asset to the village, bringing not only cultural value but also net income into Frankfort’s coffers.

Despite repeated appeals and meetings from 2018 to 2023, museum leadership never got a hearing before the village’s Board of Trustees.

Ogle allegedly kept the museum’s proposal from ever reaching the board, leaving both the museum and trustees in the dark until it was too late.

Now, Frankfort’s loss has become New Lenox’s gain after KidsWork Children's Museum closed in Frankfort in August 2024 and opened in a newly built facility in New Lenox in October 2024.

Prior to the move, KidsWork Children's Museum President Belinda Basso revealed that Frankfort Village Trustees were never informed of the museum’s ongoing discussions with local officials, which ultimately led to a competing offer from New Lenox that Frankfort could not match.

Basso expressed frustration that the Village Trustees were not given the chance to consider the proposal, especially given the potential financial benefit.

“Whether the Village Trustees would have voted in favor or against the proposal, as a Frankfort resident, I am deeply disappointed that the Trustees were not made aware of, nor given the opportunity to opine on, the absorption of the museum,” Basso told the Will County Gazette. “Adding a $250,000+ net revenue stream for Frankfort, in addition to the many other positive impacts, would be something the Trustees should have been apprised of.”

The museum, which had been an integral part of the Frankfort community since its opening in 2007, experienced steady growth over the years, but Basso emphasized that its structure was unsustainable in the long term.

Basso emphasized that the museum was not asking for financial support or infrastructure but would have been a profitable asset for Frankfort. She expressed disappointment regarding the mishandling of the museum’s absorption proposal by the Village of Frankfort noting the museum generated $250,000 to $325,000 annually through fundraising and fees, and also attracted 35,000 to 40,000 visitors each year, helping attract clientele to local businesses.

“I, museum board president, and the executive director met with the mayor and village administrator numerous times from 2018 to 2023,” she said.

Basso said she told Ogle that most children's museums are operated under municipalities and that the main reason for seeking absorption into the village was operational challenges. 

With only one full-time employee, an executive director, who lacked benefits, absorption would have allowed the director to receive municipal benefits.

Basso also said the museum's all-volunteer board was becoming less sustainable as the organization grew, and absorption would provide a more stable structure.

During the pandemic, Basso said the museum nearly closed but survived, highlighting the need for more stability. Despite her efforts to engage Frankfort’s leadership, she felt her requests were ignored.

“The meetings were generally designed to convince the mayor(s) to absorb the museum into the village,” Basso said. “The village declined and recommended we approach both Frankfort and Frankfort Square park districts. The museum approached both park districts (Frankfort’s park district several times over the same number of years), but both declined due to issues within the park districts’ infrastructures.”

A New Lenox village employee, also on the museum board, ultimately informed New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann about the situation.

After hearing of the museum’s struggles, Baldermann reached out with an unsolicited offer: a new 12,000-square-foot facility and a formal relationship to ensure the museum’s long-term stability.

By the time the Frankfort Village Trustees were informed, the opportunity had already passed. 

Basso said Ogle and the village administrator had not shared the museum’s efforts with the Village of Frankfort Trustees, which led to frustration from the Trustees when the offer from New Lenox was revealed.