The Chicago History Museum has named Michael J. Anderson as its new president and CEO, following a nationwide search to succeed Donald Lassere, who exited the role in January, amid a rocky period for the Lincoln Park institution.
Lassere’s tenure was marked by staff reductions following unionization efforts at the museum, prompting a rare formal complaint from the National Labor Relations Board. The museum’s annual revenue also dropped between fiscal years 2024 and 2025, from $13.4 million to $11.9 million — about an 11% decrease. Plus, operating hours of its robust research center were reduced.
Anderson, who has been in the top role on an interim basis since January, has worked at the museum at 1601 N. Clark St. since 2014, most recently as the vice president of external affairs and development.
The 62-year-old former Joffrey dancer said he is ready to lead the museum and its 119 staff members into a new chapter, with a focus on staff morale, union negotiations, the institution’s financial well-being and expanded access to its vast archives and collections.
“I’ve been on the front lines representing the museum for over a decade, but I really understood more deeply how much the museum means to the city of Chicago [in the last six months],” Anderson said. “I also learned some of the challenges that the museum faces. I’ve learned that we’ve got more work to do.”
In February 2025, workers at the museum announced their plans to unionize, joining a wave of organizing at the city’s major cultural institutions. After officially voting to form the union in April of that year, four employees were fired, while others were disciplined or threatened with termination, according to the National Labor Relations Board. This May, the board found the museum violated federal labor laws.
In an interview Thursday, Anderson said the museum has settled those charges and has extended offers to four employees to return to work. So far, two have accepted the offer, Anderson said.
Anderson also said the museum has “continued to negotiate in good faith with the union” to reach a collective bargaining agreement, saying “we’ve made a lot of progress since January.”
A spokesperson with the workers’ union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, confirmed that they had seen “significant progress in the right direction in recent months,” adding that they hope to be able to reach a collective bargaining agreement in the next couple of months.
The museum has also restored the hours of the four staff members in the Abakanowicz Research Center. Last July, those workers were reduced from full-time to part-time. Now, Anderson said the staff is back to full-time employment.
The research center has also expanded the hours it is open to the public without appointment. The current summertime hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. That’s an increase from the hours in January, which were noon to 3 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, by appointment only. Anderson said the center will also be open on Saturdays during the school year.
“To me, it is one of the most important aspects of the museum, and we need to have it open and available to the public,” Anderson said of the research center.
But despite changes in recent months, museums overall still face big challenges and the Chicago History Museum is no exception.
“It is not an easy time for museums and nonprofits, in general. Expenses have drastically increased over the last year,” Anderson said. “We continue to see improvements in attendance and fundraising, but federal funding is still dried up, and so we have some financial headwinds.”
The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services — which awarded the museum more than $690,000 in grants in fiscal year 2024 for exhibition and conservation costs — has been under attack by the Trump administration. And last week, the president escalated his attacks against the Smithsonian, ordering that signs be installed outside the National Museum of American History “warning visitors about the ideological capture” and correcting the “inaccurate information presented in the museum.”
Plus, museum leaders nationwide are grappling with advancements in artificial intelligence and what it will mean for the future of their industry. All of this is on Anderson’s mind as he thinks about what comes next for the museum.
“We want to be thoughtful, fearless and unexpected,” Anderson said. “Sometimes museums, and certainly history museums, are thought to be kind of boring or very scholarly or academic, and I want to embrace new technologies, really deepen community partnerships and present [history] in a kind of a dynamic, playful [way].”
The museum, which was established in 1856, claims to be the city’s oldest cultural institution. Its collection includes more than 23 million artifacts, documents and images. According to the museum’s board, Anderson was selected from a nationwide pool of more than 70 applicants.
“Michael is the right person to lead the Museum as cultural institutions nationwide rethink how to offer the best experience possible to visitors and members,” board chair Warren Chapman said in a statement. “People changed their leisure-time habits during the COVID pandemic, and we need to make sure our museum offerings are compelling and meaningful. Michael has the vision and experience to lead these efforts.”
The Chicago History Museum sees about 150,000 annual visitors. This fall, the museum will launch the exhibition “Threads of a Nation: Preserving Presidential Clothing” featuring garments worn by former presidents George Washington, John Adams and Abraham Lincoln. The pieces are part of the museum’s extensive costume collection.
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.