Lollapalooza’s future in Chicago is uncertain. Will it be decided behind closed doors?

CHICAGO — Following Lollapalooza’s long and lucrative run in Chicago, the future of the flagship music festival is still to be determined, with its decade-old contract ending this year.

But as producers negotiate with city officials on a pact to keep Lollapalooza in town, some residents, aldermen and parks advocates wonder if they’ll have any say in the decision — especially after the Chicago Park District quietly executed a one-year contract extension for this year’s festival without any public discussion or vote.

Grant Park will welcome more than 170 acts and hundreds of thousands of music lovers for Lollapalooza starting Thursday. The two aldermen whose wards include the downtown park recognize that Chicago’s largest music festival is a major economic driver for the city, even as they field complaints each year about noise, trash, street closures and attendees whose partying got out of hand.

Both aldermen have a wish list for the next Lollapalooza contract but say they haven’t been invited to any discussions the city has had about the festival’s future. Nor did they participate in the Park District’s one-year extension of the current contract to allow the four-day event to happen this year.

“I didn’t that will take place downtown next summer) and they were having negotiations for over a year, I hear. The alderpeople who represent the community not having heard from this administration is a problem,” said Ald. Sophia King. “We are uniquely positioned to share what our communities are saying, and it’s important for that voice to be heard.”