Elmhurst School Trucks Used For Personal Commutes, District Suspects

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst school official who used his government credit card for such things as booze, cigars and country clubs is suspected of something else, according to an Elmhurst police report.

In a report released last week, police said they reviewed an internal document from the district that said Todd Schmidt, the former facilities director, was suspected of using district-owned trucks for personal commutes to and from work starting in October 2024.

Schmidt lives in Rockford; his house is 68 miles from the district's office. If he used a district truck daily, that would amount to 680 miles a week.

He resigned Dec. 9, 2024, a couple of weeks after he was arrested on felony charges in Rockford. He is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his mother.

The district had not revealed its suspicions of personal truck use to the public.

On Monday, Patch asked the school's spokesperson, Tonya Daniels, how an employee could regularly use a district truck for commutes and whether the district has taken measures to prevent such use. She did not respond.