Elmhurst Police Station Built For Style, Not Function: Mayor

ELMHURST, IL – Stilettos may rule in high fashion. But sensible flats work in the real world.

In the city of Elmhurst's view, a similar concept should apply to the police station. Officials are making the case for a new $48 million station to replace the 35-year-old one.

"It seems (the station) was built more for style," Mayor Scott Levin said in Thursday's State of the City address. "There's a big beautiful spiral staircase in the middle... It not only takes up a lot of useful space, but it interferes with the functionality."

In the late 1980s, he said, the City Council gave the police department a budget to "build what you can." And he said the city hired an architectural firm to design the only police station the firm ever worked on.

"A police station should be designed by an architect that has experience in police stations and understands their special needs," the mayor said.

Last month, a council committee recommended tax hikes to pay for the new police station. The city has posted videos to persuade a skeptical public that the station is plagued with problems.

Many of the building's systems are near the end of their life and will be costly to replace, Levin said.

"If you ever drive by the police station in the summer, you'll see a shipping container-sized air conditioner outside," he said. "The (building's) air conditioner failed. It's in the attic. If we replaced it, we'd have to tear the roof off the building."

He also said the police station has had instances in which raw sewage flowed inside.

The full City Council has not voted on the tax increases.

City officials hope to get the engineering for the new police station done this year, with construction starting in 2026.