Elmhurst Trolley Opposition Melts Away

ELMHURST, IL – Little has changed about the Elmhurst trolley. Yet last year's dissenters on the City Council turned into supporters Tuesday.

The trolley, which takes residents and visitors to six stops in downtown and the Spring Road business district, received the backing of all 14 aldermen at a council meeting.

That contrasts with the 9-5 vote a year ago.

Most of last year's dissenters wanted the decade-old trolley to include stops in other areas. They were Jacob Hill, Michael Bram, Rex Irby, Karen Sienko and Noel Talluto.

A week ago, Ward 2's Hill voted against the trolley proposal during a committee meeting. Since then, he said the city has furnished the specific ridership data that he said he wanted.

"After 10 o'clock, the trolley is essentially not ridden," Hill said. "Sad blow to those who use it for bar hopping."

He said he would vote for the trolley, which runs during the summer and winter holidays. But he said he would continue to push for testing new stops.

"If you call me Alderman Trolley, I'll probably answer," Hill joked.

Ward 3's Bram said he "wholeheartedly" supported the trolley, but wanted to see the service evolve to be the best possible for residents.

Meanwhile, Ward 7's Irby said the dissenters wanted to increase the routes.

"It appears nothing has happened in the past year with respect to those requests," he said.

Before last year's vote, Ward 4's Talluto said the city had asked a lot of residents, enacting increases to sales taxes and water rates.

"I believe we need to start looking at programs that are nice-to-haves vs. must-haves," she said at the time. "In my mind, this is a nice-to-have program, and therefore, I will vote against this."

She did not explain her support this year. Patch left a message for comment Wednesday morning.

City officials said the trolley's ridership increased last year.

According to Elmhurst records, the program was launched to "enhance the Explore Elmhurst Campaign," which is "designed to encourage all potential consumers, including residents and consumers, to explore all happenings within the community."