Black Bikers In Elmhurst 'Frightened' Ex-GOP Official

ELMHURST, IL – A former committeewoman for the DuPage County Republican Party noted a gathering over the weekend in Elmhurst that she said scared her.

On Patch's comment board, Janice Saccomanno wrote that she witnessed a group of people about 7 p.m. Saturday near the Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy Store at York Street and Butterfield Road.

She said the group was made up of "black bad ass dudes in black leather jackets on motorcycles."

"Now that I am 72, I can spot danger when I see it," Saccomanno said.

She said she hasn't witnessed something like the gathering since she lived on Chicago's South Side in 1967.

In an interview, Saccomanno acknowledged that she witnessed nothing illegal. But she described them as "dangerous-looking dudes."

"It frightened me. They were all lined up. They looked suspicious to me," Saccomanno said. "There's a lot of crime on that corner."

She said she was going to call the police, but her husband advised against doing so because they had not seen the motorcyclists do anything illegal.

Asked whether she would have had a similar reaction if the bikers were white, Saccomanno replied, "If they looked like badasses, I certainly would."

She said she had no racist bone in her body, adding that her best friends were black when she grew up on the South Side.

Saccomanno also said she has encouraged her husband to hire African Americans in his construction business.

She said her community on the South Side was just like Elmhurst, but that changed. She said she sees the same happening to Elmhurst.

Saccomanno said she planned to join Elmhurst's Citizen's Police Academy, a program that educates residents about the workings of the police department.