Elmhurst Keeps No. 1 Ranking For 911 Calls

ELMHURST, IL – DuPage County's dispatch agency has long gotten more 911 calls from Elmhurst than any other participating town.

That trend continues, Elmhurst Police Chief Michael McLean told the City Council on Monday.

This is even though Elmhurst is smaller in population than Downers Grove and Wheaton and roughly the same size as Lombard. (The much larger Naperville doesn't belong to the dispatch agency, known as Du-Comm.)

The Elmhurst Police Department has long been seen as one of the area's busier agencies. That is often attributed to major highways and expressways coming through and a large number of businesses, including stores.

As of Sept. 1, Elmhurst had responded to 166 cases involving crimes against persons, a 2 percent increase from a year earlier, McLean said.

During the same time, the department answered 335 property crime calls, a 5 percent hike.

"Serious crimes like armed robbery continue to be low," the chief said. "However, we have seen an increase in misdemeanor battery and property damage offenses this year."

Traffic crashes are statistically flat so far this year, at 952. But the number remains well below 2019 levels, McLean said.

The department has issued 7,000 traffic citations so far this year, a 4 percent increase over last year.

Elmhurst has three vacancies among its 68 authorized officer positions.

McLean provided the information as part of his annual budget presentation to the City Council.