The Kogen-Miller Studios courtyard apartment building at 1734 North Wells Street is technically a condo association, with three families owning units at the property. Since 2014, the Bleicher family has owned the “coach house” unit at the Kogen-Miller Studios known as the Glasner Studio. This large unit, essentially a single-family townhome, makes up slightly less than one quarter of the building’s ownership percentage. The Glasner Studio is considered Edgar Miller’s most significant work of architecture and art, and has been the feature of numerous articles and publications since it was completed in the early 1930s. Zac Bleicher, the founding Executive Director of Edgar Miller Legacy, has lived at the property since 2014. Julie Mamolen Bleicher inherited the Glasner Studio from her brother, Mark Mamolen, who was one of the key organizers involved in preserving the legacy of Edgar Miller over the past forty years.

Glenn Aldinger owns six studio apartment units at Kogen-Miller Studios (over half of the 9-unit building) and controls the property as its majority owner. Ronald “Ron” Cieslak and his wife, Leslie, own two units, or slightly less than one fifth of the property, and they have aligned themselves with Dr. Aldinger. Together, they have control of the property’s condo association, and direct all of its management decisions. However, Dr. Aldinger and the Cieslaks do not spend significant amounts of time at the property, and most of their units are leased to tenants. At the insistence of the controlling owners, there is no professional property management for the condo association.

In 2020, the Bleicher family, as minority owners, took legal action against the condo association and the controlling owners, alleging gross mismanagement and other charges. The most significant charge in the lawsuit is that much of the building’s maintenance has been improperly deferred, with critical problems being continuously ignored by the controlling owners.

Information presented to the Chicago Department of Buildings in a separate building violation case against the association indicates that heavy metal pieces have fallen from an interior balcony into the residential courtyard, posing a threat to the safety of residents and their guests. Documentation also indicates that potentially life-threatening structural damage exists in the basement of the building, and has not been repaired despite years of the Bleichers pleading with the controlling owners to direct the condo association to take action. Other maintenance problems identified in the condo lawsuit include severe leaking that has seriously damaged the interiors of the units, in particular the Glasner Studio. There are also many other charges against the controlling owners in the lawsuit, such as improper financial management and self-dealing.

According to the Bleichers, their legal action was taken against the controlling owners after multiple attempts to work with these owners outside of litigation to address the significant maintenance and management problems.

Edgar Miller Legacy is not a party to the legal action in any way.

Edgar Miller Legacy is not a party to any of these legal actions involving the condo association at 1734 North Wells Street.

However, in a countersuit filed in response to the initial lawsuit against them, the controlling owners, Glenn Aldinger and Ron Cieslak, have alleged that the association is suffering harm because of purported Edgar Miller Legacy operations taking place at the property. However, no EML tours or programs have taken place at the property since early 2020, and for many years before that, EML tours and programs were conducted at the property with the controlling owners’ full consent and encouragement.

The controlling owners should be well aware of the fact that they permitted EML activities at the property for a number of years, and that no EML tours and programs have taken place since early 2020, and yet they continue to allege that EML tours are actively taking place at the property in order to support their countersuit against the Bleichers, even citing as evidence the tours and programs before 2020 that they supported and encouraged EML to conduct.

In the Chicago Sun-Times article from December 22, 2022, Dr. Aldinger is quoted as saying this: “We were excited about anything that was going to promote Edgar Miller. We knew there was going to be an occasional tour, but there were some weeks when there were multiple tours a week.” While Dr. Aldinger’s memory of the frequency of tours is inaccurate (EML tours occurred about once per month), he is correct that the owners were all excited and totally aware that EML was conducting tours of the property, with their encouragement, for a period of several years.

No. The nonprofit, Edgar Miller Legacy, is not a party to the condo litigation. The condo litigation only involves the condo association and its owners, Glenn Aldinger and Ron Cieslak (defendants) and Julie Bleicher (plaintiff).

That said, Edgar Miller Legacy is mentioned in a countersuit filed by the defendants, alleging that EML is a business which the Bleicher family is actively operating out of their home. However, there has been no EML organizational presence at the Kogen-Miller and Glasner Studios property since early 2020, and there are no plans to restart any EML activities there. Before 2020, the controlling owners supported and encouraged EML activities at the property for many years, and the controlling owners should be aware that there is ample documented evidence to prove this.

All donations to Edgar Miller Legacy fund only the operations and programming of the organization, such as overhead costs for our office space at MANA Contemporary, maintaining the EML website, and developing new research and publications. Since its founding, the organization has relied primarily on volunteer staff, and Zac Bleicher serves as a volunteer Executive Director for the organization. The organization also receives help from pro bono legal advisors who are monitoring the situation.

Given the lengthy process of litigation in court, if there is no settlement in the meantime, the lawsuit could continue for years.

Edgar Miller Legacy was founded as a nonprofit in 2014, after the death of the Bleichers’ relative, Mark Mamolen, who died in December 2013 and owned the Glasner Studio at the time of his death. Mr. Mamolen was one of the key figures involved in preserving the legacy of Edgar Miller over the past forty years, and was a close personal friend and patron of Edgar Miller late in the artist's life. Without Mr. Mamolen’s efforts, it is very unlikely that Edgar Miller’s name would be as well-known as it is today. Mr. Mamolen was responsible for spearheading and sponsoring the monograph book, Edgar Miller and the Handmade Home by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams (CityFiles Press, 2009). Mamolen also oversaw the restoration of the Miller-Kogen-Torres artist colony building known as the Carl Street Studios in the 1980s and ‘90s, and he led a comprehensive restoration of the Glasner Studio in the 2000s.

Edgar Miller Legacy received its 501c3 public charity status in January 2016. From its formation in 2014, and in addition to the many activities EML organized and conducted at cultural sites and institutions throughout the Chicago area, the organization was allowed to conduct activities at the Kogen-Miller Studios property with the explicit permission and encouragement of all the owners of the condo association. Notably, this support was regularly communicated by the majority owner, Glenn Aldinger, who was a close personal friend of Mark Mamolen and was well known to the Bleichers.

In numerous communications, Dr. Aldinger, representing himself as president of the association, repeatedly stated that he supported the organization’s ongoing educational work at the property, and repeatedly assured EML that its limited activities at the building were permitted. At no time did the condominium association ever alert Edgar Miller Legacy that it was in violation of any condo rules or ask the organization to cease and desist its limited activities at the property.

A set of rules related to limits on the frequency of activities and number of attendees was developed and approved in coordination with all the owners, including Glenn Aldinger and Ron and Leslie Cieslak. A set of strict visitation rules was always shared with invited guests who planned to visit the property. Edgar Miller Legacy’s limited activities at the property were scheduled in advance, with notifications sent to the owners and residents. In many instances, the controlling owners also participated in EML activities.

These owners frequently acknowledged that they stood to benefit from the organization’s awareness-raising efforts on behalf of Edgar Miller and the building. In particular, Dr. Aldinger often communicated about how he hoped to sell out of the property in a few years, and saw the organization’s awareness-building as a path to achieving that. In one written communication to EML Executive Director Zac Bleicher and to the other owners Ron and Leslie Cieslak, Dr. Aldinger said he supported the organization’s presence at the building, seeing it as a means to “juice up the building value”.

In addition to numerous written and verbal communications over many years encouraging EML activities at the property, in 2017, Glenn Aldinger requested that Edgar Miller Legacy provide insurance coverage for the condo association related to all organization events at the property. EML gladly complied with this request, providing the condo association and all individual owners with a certificate of insurance covering each owner and the association under the organization’s general liability policy. This demonstrated the condo association’s willingness to support EML’s activities, so long as the association was protected from any liability exposure.

During the time that EML had a presence at the property, the condo association’s insurance carrier never increased premiums for the property due to EML activities, and was fully aware of the marginal increase in activity taking place because of the organization’s programs.

In practice, the activity levels of the organization were infrequent and low in attendee numbers. In at least one written communication, Dr. Aldinger acknowledged that the Bleichers opening their home for use by the nonprofit was no different than if the family had invited small, respectful groups to their home for any other personal or social purpose.

Many of the residents who live in the units owned by the Aldingers and Cieslaks also participated in EML activities and enjoyed going to EML gatherings, seeing the activities as a benefit to the building and its community.

Some additional context should help to better understand how this level of disagreement could have occurred between the owners at the Kogen-Miller Studios, when both of the controlling owners of the condo association were initially supportive and encouraging of Edgar Miller Legacy.

Glenn Aldinger stated to all of the other owners at the condo association as early as 2014 that he intended to sell out of the property in a few years, and acknowledged that he saw a way to achieve that goal through the work of the Edgar Miller Legacy organization, which was raising awareness of the property’s unique and significant history. Knowing this, from its inception in 2014, Edgar Miller Legacy worked in good faith and transparently with Dr. Aldinger and the Cieslaks, with the goal of the EML community taking ownership of the property through a buyout of the other owners. This would allow the nonprofit to begin stewarding the property for the long-term and would also allow the organization the ability to ensure careful public access to the historic site. The EML board believed that everyone was operating in good faith and transparently, and that a fair buyout was what Dr. Aldinger and the Cieslaks wanted.

In late 2017, Dr. Aldinger formally engaged with EML to arrange for an off-market buyout of his condominium units at the property, and he signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) agreeing to a standard appraisal process to sell his units to the organization. Contracting with an appraiser recommended by Landmarks Illinois (a statewide historic preservation nonprofit), EML commissioned and paid for a building appraisal to begin the process of determining an estimated fair market value for the property. In addition to viewing the exteriors of the building, the appraiser visited the interiors of all of Dr. Aldinger’s units, as well as the interior of the Glasner Studio, which is owned by the Bleichers. However, once this initial appraisal report was presented to all the owners in early 2018, Dr. Aldinger derided its conclusions as “milquetoast” and provided no counter-offer to get his own appraisal, as had been outlined as a next step in the LOI agreement.

If Dr. Aldinger had moved forward with the agreement he signed with EML, he would have stood to receive over $1.5 million for his property holdings at the building, and EML was committed to raising the funding and to make it a reality. The Cieslaks were invited to participate by Dr. Aldinger, but declined at that time, though they have indicated numerous times that they too wish to sell (though also for pricing well above any appraised value).

Having entered into the LOI agreement and having started the process by expending organization funds on an appraisal, only to be rebuffed with no alternative provided, the EML board began to seriously question whether the goals of the controlling owners and those of the organization were aligned. Dr. Aldinger and the Cieslaks had shown their support for the organization in numerous conversations, written communications and other ways over the years. Although detailed information of the organization’s efforts had been provided to these owners on multiple occasions, Dr. Aldinger and the Cieslaks appear to have taken for granted the large amounts of volunteer time and third-party funding that was expended developing EML programs at the Kogen-Miller Studios based on their assurances and encouragement.

No. In July 2018, as the board of Edgar Miller Legacy began to realize the organization’s goals and the goals of the controlling owners of the association did not align, the organization made the decision to move its office space to 1366 North Sedgwick Street, where its headquarters remain to this day. Though no request was ever made by the controlling owners for EML to cease its activities at the property, the last EML tour at the property was held in February 2020. Since that time and continuing today, there has been no EML organizational presence at the Kogen-Miller and Glasner Studios property, and there are no plans to restart any Legacy activities there.

Even though EML hasn’t conducted a tour of the property or hosted any EML programs or events there since February 2020, Dr. Aldinger and Mr. Cieslak continue to allege in court that the Bleichers are violating the condo association rules, claiming that any time the Bleichers invite guests over, it is for “business” purposes. If guests of the Bleichers are seen entering the building, or discussing Edgar Miller history in the building, Dr. Aldinger and Mr. Cieslak claim in legal filings that those visits are “EML tours”. The controlling owners have even alleged that Edgar Miller Legacy’s free online virtual tour of the Glasner Studio— a home tour on the internet— is a part of the Bleichers' improper use of the property.

The Bleichers, who are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, continue to offer opportunities to hold settlement talks and discuss grounds for mediation, but the other owners and defendants, Glenn Aldinger and Ron Cieslak, have consistently resisted attempts to engage in serious settlement discussions.

Edgar Miller Legacy believes the offer to buy out the controlling owners of the property at a fair-market value was a reasonable offer, and one that the majority owner, Glenn Aldinger, initially agreed to by signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) with EML to start an appraisal process for such a buyout. However, Dr. Aldinger and the other minority owners, the Cieslaks, have subsequently stated that they expect to be bought out at an amount well above any appraised value for their property at the building.

While the controlling owners have previously stated many times that they wish to ensure the long-term preservation of Edgar Miller’s work, and previously supported the organization’s mission and vision, now, rather than working in good faith with the nonprofit and the Bleichers to move the property into a secure nonprofit ownership, the controlling owners appear to want to use the organization’s transparent interest in helping with such a buyout as a way to extract a windfall profit from the nonprofit and its community.

The controlling owners, Glenn Aldinger and Ron Cieslak, insist that the building has an “art value” that justifies their demand to be bought out for pricing that is higher than an independent appraisal’s fair market value of the building. However, in spite of this belief in its “art value”, they are also adamantly opposed to landmarking the building.

Edgar Miller Legacy continues to encourage the building’s owners to support landmarking the historically significant property, as well as to protect the installed interior fixtures by Edgar Miller and other artisans, such as the stained glass windows, wood carvings, mosaics, and more. The handcrafted work by Edgar Miller, Jesús Torres, and others at the Kogen-Miller Studios and the Glasner Studio is unique in the entire world, and deserves the honorary recognition and legal protection that landmark designation would bring.

Unless the controlling owners support landmarking the property, it is unknown when the building will be recognized officially by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks or in other ways, such as on the National Register of Historic Places (a federal designation). While officials at the Commission on Chicago Landmarks have said that the building is well-deserving of preservation, they also have been reluctant to landmark it without the owners’ full support.

Over 1000 members of the public have recently signed a petition to landmark the building, but the controlling owners have said that only after they are bought out will the future owners be able to landmark the building. In a recent article in The Architect’s Newspaper, the majority owner, Glenn Aldinger, had this to say: “Everybody agrees, including us, that eventually the place has got to be landmarked—not now.”

Anyone from the public has a right to express their views and let the City of Chicago know if they think that the building deserves landmark status now, and public support could increase the chances for landmark status being obtained. You can send them a letter at landmarks@cityofchicago.org.

Glenn Aldinger and his late wife Jannine had a longstanding history and partnership with the Bleichers’ late relative, Mark Mamolen, to preserve and promote Edgar Miller’s work, and given that, the Bleichers and Edgar Miller Legacy had every reason to believe that the Aldingers were acting in good faith and wanted to see the vision of EML become a reality.

Beginning in the 1980s, the Aldingers and Mark Mamolen partnered on a documentary venture related to Edgar Miller’s life and work, and, late in the artist's life, they promised Edgar Miller, per the artist’s expressed wishes, that they would steward his artwork and papers to a publicly accessible archive after his death, and that they would work to see that Miller’s name become better known. Consequently, in 1990, at age 90, Edgar Miller changed his will and assigned his large personal art collection and papers to Jannine Aldinger. Though Miller died in 1993, Mrs. Aldinger had come into possession of Miller’s art collection and papers by the late 1980s and had spent numerous hours with Miller cataloging it all, with Miller believing he was working on an inventory of the items intended for a public archive.

Edgar Miller put such trust in Mrs. Aldinger because she was one of his primary companions at that time, and almost all of his personal financial needs were covered by Mark Mamolen and Glenn Aldinger.

In 2014, shortly after the death of her brother Mark, Julie Bleicher asked Glenn Aldinger about the status of fulfilling the promise to Edgar Miller about his personal art and papers. Glenn Aldinger wrote back to her: “We three [Mark Mamolen and Glenn and Jannine Aldinger] were going to meet to figure out where it all should go at the time of our deaths (as we promised Edgar)”.

However, many years continued to go by and the Aldingers repeatedly refused to discuss with Ms. Bleicher what to do with the art and papers of Edgar Miller, which still remain in the Aldingers’ possession.

In 2019, when asked again by Ms. Bleicher about the status of the donation of Miller’s work to a public institution, Dr. Aldinger wrote: “We all promised to predesignate Edgar's art to museums etc. upon our respective demise and that topic I also need to discuss with Jannine whose condition is slowly improving.”

However, in the 30+ years since Edgar Miller entrusted Jannine with his vast personal collection and papers, Mrs. Aldinger neglected to fulfill her promise to Edgar. Mrs. Aldinger died in late 2022 without even mentioning her intentions for Edgar Miller’s art and papers in her will. Her legal ownership of Edgar Miller’s personal art and papers has now passed to Glenn Aldinger.

Recently, Dr. Aldinger communicated in writing to Ms. Bleicher that he is interested in achieving the maximum financial benefit to himself from the collection, through some mix of selling and donating the art. Although Dr. Aldinger is now in his mid-seventies, he also indicated to Ms. Bleicher that he is in no hurry to get any of the donation work accomplished and will do so at his leisure. It is unknown whether Dr. Aldinger has indicated in his estate planning any intentions to donate the artwork and papers of Edgar Miller. The Aldingers had no children.

Julie Bleicher continues to implore Glenn Aldinger to take this matter more seriously, and to begin to make donation plans for Edgar Miller’s personal collection of art and papers, as was promised to Edgar by the Aldingers and her late brother, Mark Mamolen, several decades ago.

Edgar Miller Legacy was founded with the mission to preserve the work and history of Edgar Miller. Becoming the long-term steward of the Kogen-Miller and Glasner Studios property at 1734 North Wells Street was originally a part of the organization’s long-term strategic goals based on expectations set by the controlling owners of the property, especially the building’s majority owner, Glenn Aldinger. The organization worked in a transparent and honest way with the owners of the property and offered tours and programs at the building until early 2020 in a limited, safe, and respectful way, and with all of the building owners’ permission and support. These activities were done in order to generate interest in the building and its history, and to ensure that there would be community support for the long-term stewardship of the property. The controlling owners of the building, Dr. Aldinger and Ron and Leslie Cieslak, were well aware that EML had these intentions because these intentions were transparently shared by EML through numerous written and in-person communications and meetings with them.

Edgar Miller Legacy is a product of a community’s dream to see Edgar Miller better recognized and to find ways for the public to see and learn about the work of this incredible artist up close, in the places where his art is embedded. During its early years, the nonprofit organization safely and non-intrusively brought in students, researchers, artists, and interested members of the general public to the Glasner Studio, recognized as Miller’s masterwork of art and design. Due to these efforts, Edgar Miller was being better appreciated by a wider audience, and his legacy of inspiring artistry and craftsmanship was coming out of obscurity.

However, much of the success of sharing Edgar Miller’s work at the Glasner Studio was reliant on the promises and assurances of the controlling owners of the building’s condo association, Glenn Aldinger and Ron and Leslie Cieslak– promises and assurances that these owners now apparently wish to deny.

While Edgar Miller Legacy will continue to act as a collections and research organization based out of our office space in Pilsen, at MANA Contemporary, it is unclear at this time what the future holds for the Kogen-Miller and Glasner Studios.