The Amaze Light Festival took place in Tinley Park in 2022, but more than a year later, several businesses and non-profits say they are still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars for their services, including performances, transportation and traffic control.
For such a big, expensive and time-intensive Christmas light festival, Kim Scerine and her dance troop said it’s a shame so few involved in the fest, appear to have been paid.
"We went into this to do a good job,” said Scerine, who heads up the non-profit dance group On-Broadway Dancers based in Coal City. "These kids gave everything."
Scerine said the troupe is owed $48,000 for the dozens of performances they did for the festival.
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"I just don't really know how you can live with yourself after [not paying]," said Brecken Johnson, a performer part of the 2022 Amaze Light Festival. "I mean, we came in every single day ready to work, no matter what. I think I worked in like negative 20-degree weather."
"I just don't understand how this isn't a crime," said Scerine. "For 11 months, they had been telling me that they were going to pay me in full."
That’s what Amaze Light Festival's CEO told NBC 5 Responds too.
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In the statement from CEO Derek Norwood back in September, he pledged, "On Broadway Dancers will receive a series of payments in 2023 to be paid in full."
But in early December, the company apparently changed its tune. They sent Scerine an email with a surprising offer.
"They were no longer offering to pay me in full. They wanted me to take $26,000 instead of the $48,000, which is $20,000 in losses," said Scerine. "Or option two is to pay me $8,000 by Dec. 31, 2023. And then they would make me payments monthly, interest free, for two years. Those are my two options."
Scerine was livid.
"Mostly my reaction was, 'You don't get to pull a 180.' It seems like nearly every company that was involved, and putting their time and service in here, either has not been paid in full or has not been paid at all," she said.
Scerine is not wrong. NBC 5 Responds compiled a list of debts and lawsuits against the company stemming from the 2022 Tinley Park festival.
Those debts include:
- An $80,000 bill from the Tinley Park Police department for security and traffic services
- More than half a million dollars allegedly owed to the venue Odyssey Fun World as outlined in a ‘breach of contract’ lawsuit they filed last year.
- $24,000 to three local equipment, marketing and staging companies
- Nearly $50,000 to Aries Transportation which shuttled festivals guests to the venue.
The company is also facing millions of dollars in lawsuits over non-payment from businesses and venues in Illinois, Florida and New York.
We reached out to CEO Derek Norwood for comment. He did not respond to our questions.
"You feel like you've just been scammed, you know," said Scerine, "and it really is a slap in the face to the work that [the dancers] did."
Scerine’s dancers were supposed to be paid $100 a day for their role in the light show.
But when that payment never came, Scerine made the choice to take on a loan and pay the kids herself.
"It shows how dedicated she is to everything that she does, and making sure that her dancers come first," said Stephen Byers Jr., a performer in the 2022 festival.
As bad as things are, Scerine’s troupe is moving forward and staying lighthearted about it all, at least on stage.
In one of their recent holiday shows, one of the performers gives a monologue that not-so-subtly refers to the money they’re owed, stating in a sing-song voice: "Of course I’m referring to last year when we didn’t do a Christmas show because we had some 'other things going on' and 'write a letter.'"
"Saying, ‘We are broke. Merry Christmas,' feels like that's a really good opener, gets the audience warmed up and really just shows like, what's what happened. What's really going on,” said Byers.
Scerine said she can’t afford to file a lawsuit but has lodged a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. She and other businesses that are owed money by Amaze are now starting to connect and consider their legal options as a group.
