Gov. Pritzker Celebrates Grand Opening of Illinois Holocaust Museum Satellite Location

CHICAGO— Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined museum leadership, elected officials, and community members to celebrate the grand opening of Illinois Holocaust Museum presents Experience360, a new satellite museum located in the heart of downtown Chicago. The new museum will continue Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s mission of education and storytelling as the Skokie museum is temporarily closed for renovations.

“The Illinois Holocaust Museum does a critical service in educating our people on the most horrific tragedy in human history and empowering us to fight against the rising tide of hate and antisemitism,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This Satellite Campus will be an ever-present reminder of our shared responsibility to speak up for one another, educating thousands every year about the horrors of our past, while inspiring them to transform our future.”

Opening to the public on August 26, Experience360, situated within the Shapiro Family Foundation Center at 360 N. State St, will feature a number of the Skokie location’s most iconic, award-winning exhibitions. The location will feature artifacts and personal mementos from survivors, photograph exhibits, a virtual reality film experience, and interactive “conversations” with survivors in the Holography Theater. ​ ​ ​

“At the time of increasing antisemitism and other forms of hate, lessons from history are as important as ever.” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Illinois Holocaust Museum. “Governor Pritzker has been leading the efforts to fight extremism in our society, and we could not be prouder to welcome him as we open Experience360.”

Governor Pritzker is a longstanding advocate for Holocaust education, helping to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum before being elected governor in 2018. With the rise in antisemitism, the Pritzker administration has worked to curb hate in communities across Illinois through landmark legislation and anti-hate programs, including the Help Stop Hate helpline—a joint effort with the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Governor Pritzker and the U.S. Department of Justice have also invested millions in Illinois’ coordinated response to hate. Governor Pritzker set aside a $5 million, 5-year supplemental fund to support Help Stop Hate and the CDHC in the FY 2024 budget. CDHC and IDHR received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice under the Jabara-Heyer NO-HATE Act to launch Help Stop Hate. The U.S. DOJ provided an additional grant under the Act to the Illinois Office of the Attorney General to create and administer training for law enforcement on hate crime response protocol.

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