Elmhurst Battles Online Comments On Police Station

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst officials said on Monday that they've struggled to counter social media commentary against the city's proposal for a new police station.

The $48 million station is expected to cost the owner of a median-valued home an average of $53 annually in property taxes for two decades.

During a meeting Monday, Alderman Guido Nardini said all City Council candidates have done their homework and are for tearing down the 35-year-old station and building anew.

"The people I see on social media are reflexively against it," Nardini said during the council's public safety committee meeting. "We have work to do to explain the need for it."

If the social media commenters toured the current station, he said, they would change their minds.

Mayor Scott Levin said the city has been open about what it wants to do.

"I don't know that social media is a sample of public opinion," the mayor said. "I find it usually isn't."

Police Chief Michael McLean said it is harder to make the case for a new police station than other public buildings because few people see it. Most people, he said, hope they never see the inside of a police station.

"It's difficult to message this," he said.

McLean and City Manager Jim Grabowski are speaking to local groups about the police station. Meanwhile, Levin said the city hoped to hold a public meeting for the sole purpose of explaining the need for a new building.

At Monday's meeting, Alderman Mike Brennan said he was ready to vote on the proposal for a new station and send the matter to the full City Council.

That proposal includes property and hotel tax hikes and the sale of a city-owned downtown building.

Nardini said he wanted to take a closer look at the costs of renovated police stations in other towns. Doing this, he said, would help him "aggressively champion" the new station to his neighbors.

Brennan said he respected Nardini's position, noting Elmhurst was told that renovating its station would cost $40 million. He asked the city to look into how much such a project would cost property taxpayers compared with building anew.

"We'll find that the difference on an annualized basis is very small – Five Guys' hamburgers small," Brennan said.

Officials hope to design the new station this year and start the construction project in 2026.

Committee members agreed to resume their discussion in a couple of weeks.