York Students Held At Gunpoint In Lombard: Elmhurst Official

ELMHURST, IL – Several York High School students were held at gunpoint a month ago in Lombard by men who were believed to be federal agents, an Elmhurst alderman said Monday.

At a City Council meeting, Alderman Guido Nardini said an unidentified car blocked the students on Oct. 4 in a Lombard parking lot.

The students were pulled out of their car at gunpoint, he said.

"They were suspicious in no way, and they committed no crime," said Nardini, who is running as a Democrat for the DuPage County Board. "They were told that there were riots in the neighborhood and that they needed to move on."

Patch left a message for comment with Lombard police on Tuesday.

Nardini also noted an Oct. 1 incident involving federal agents at an apartment complex just over the Elmhurst city limit in Bensenville. The complex is part of Elmhurst School District 205.

"While District 205 students were going to buses at the Elm Court Apartments in Bensenville, their parents were being preyed upon by unidentified troops in Bensenville," Nardini said.

In the coming days and weeks, Nardini said he would lobby his colleagues for a resolution or ordinance to expand Elmhurst's protection beyond the state's Trust Act. That law bars police in Illinois from taking part in immigration enforcement.

"To explore what's legal, we need to consider that our parks or our parking lots or our empty lots are off limits for staging (by ICE)," he said.

He also suggested a welcoming city ordinance that would reassure residents that their rights and protections are enforced.

Such measures would largely be symbolic, he said, because agencies such as ICE can operate with judicial warrants.

"I don't raise this issue flippantly to those concerned about politicizing the council," he said. "I say we have scared neighbors, and we need to let them know we are on their side."

Everyone is entitled to due process, he said.

"Unidentified masked men pulling people out of cars has never been on the right side of American history," Nardini said. "We have the opportunity to lead, follow or do nothing. I say we are obliged to lead."

No one else spoke about the issue.