JOLIET, Ill. , July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With the recent announcement of the passing of Judy Belushi Pisano, the Joliet Area Historical Museum (JAHM) will dedicate this year's "Blues Brothers Con" to Judy's memory and lasting artistic legacy. The Museum's CEO, Greg Peerbolte , noted that she had served the Museum's Old Joliet Prison Historic Site for over five years in an advisory capacity.
"Through the Prison's connection to one of the most important films ever made, The Blues Brothers , Judy shared our viewpoint that contemplating this complex historic site as a redefined community gathering space driven by education, art and music would help to bring about healing and honor the film's cultural legacy. Nowhere was this more evident in the creation of the 'Blues Brothers Con' festival" he said. Peerbolte noted that from the moment the Museum took control of the Prison site in 2018, the penitentiary's connection to The Blues Brothers loomed large and proved to be a major factor in the decision to reopen the former penitentiary, constructed in 1858.
Prior to this, the Joliet Prison sat largely vacant after its closure in 2002 and was subjected to vandalism and several acts of arson. Efforts to host the first "Blues Brothers Con" began in 2019 to commemorate the 40 th anniversary of the film were stifled by the pandemic. The inaugural Blues Brothers Con was later held in August of 2022 in which 6,000 attendees descended on the Prison to watch Dan Aykroyd and James Belushi p.
