R. Kelly was set to host a Spring Break event in April in his home state of Illinois, however, the application that would secure the location has been recently denied. The refusal to lease the Illinois State Fairgrounds concert space was made official this on Thursday, January 10. Organizers of the Spring Break Jam concert, who had already announced the event with R. Kelly as their host, were informed that their event posed security concerns.
While the rejection is somewhat related to the controversial documentary series presented by Lifetime, the allegations made in Surviving R. Kelly are not the direct reason for the officials' decision. Illinois Department of Agriculture spokeswoman, Denise Albert, explained how the subsequent protests are the cause, citing the demonstration held outside of Kelly's studio in Chicago on Wednesday. View footage of the actions that may have played into this decision below.
According to Albert's statement, the event did not meet 3 of the 13 criteria for approval as stipulated by the IDOA’s Administrative Code:
- “The security of both the physical premises and persons upon the premises of the State Fairgrounds”
- “Reasonably foreseeable problems with security caused by either the nature of the usage or the identity of the proposed lessee or his/her patrons”
- “The welfare of the general community”
Albert specified that another proposal for the event might be considered for approval in the future as long as it does not include R. Kelly.
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