Elmhurst Paper Continues, But Suffers Website Problem

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst Independent newspaper is continuing, though its website is down.

The weekly Elmhurst paper is the sister of similar publications in Villa Park and Bensenville, as well as the Lombardian in Lombard. (As of Friday, after this story appeared, the papers' websites were up.)

The website for those newspapers had been featuring a greeting: "Hello world! Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!" That changed Thursday morning.

Patch reached out to the owner, Rock Valley Publishing, which is in Loves Park, next to Rockford.

Two people answering the phone at Rock Valley Publishing on Thursday morning said the publications are still in operation. The first person said she was unaware of the website problem, but said she would contact the IT person. The Rock Valley Publishing site is experiencing the same issue.

In a text message Thursday afternoon, Peter Cruger, the Independent's publisher, said Rock Valley Publishing and the Independent will have a new website.

"The site is down while the new one is loading," he said. "Readers will now be able to access all 35 of our newspapers from the new site."

The Elmhurst Independent started about 25 years ago, according to the Elmhurst Public Library website. Its longtime reporter, Dee Longfellow, resigned in recent times.

The area newspapers are run out of an office at 240 West Ave. in Elmhurst, which is for sale. It's not unusual for papers to downsize their offices.

A real estate listing indicates the nearly 50-year-old building is under contract; it is priced at $715,000.

With the advent of the internet, newspapers have been declining for years nationwide. Many have closed or merged.

Like most towns, Elmhurst has seen a drop in local news coverage. Just before the pandemic, three area reporters covered a local park board meeting about putting a tax hike before voters. Such attendance is unlikely to happen now.

Cruger, an Elmhurst native, has spent his life running newspapers in Illinois and Wisconsin.

In 2018, Cruger was interviewed on the Etown Lowdown podcast. He was asked about the future of print publications.

"As things drift over to the digital side, I think the people who are providing good content (will) still be the winners in this," Cruger said. "It will slowly drift from print to digital."