Did Elmhurst Politician Deploy 'Undesirable' People?

ELMHURST, IL – Before last month's election, DuPage County's sheriff denounced one of the Republican candidates for county office.

In a Facebook post, Sheriff James Mendrick alleged County Board Chairman candidate Pete DiCianni mailed "hit pieces" involving Mendrick's wife.

In the election, DiCianni, a District 2 County Board member from Elmhurst, lost to District 3 County Board member Greg Hart of Hinsdale, who took 60 percent of the vote.

Mendrick, a Republican, made other accusations in his Facebook post. He said DicCianni, a former Elmhurst mayor, sent "undesirable" people to the homes of sheriff's deputies "to scare their families."

Mendrick gave no more details about the encounters, including how he defined "undesirable" people.

He posted the criticism to a Facebook page labeled "James Mendrick DuPage County Sheriff." The page uses a variation of the Sheriff's Office's seal as its cover photo.

On July 4, Patch submitted a public records request to the Sheriff's Office. It was for any documents about DiCianni, his campaign or any of his representatives sending people to the houses of sheriff's deputies.

A day later, the Sheriff's Office emailed Patch that it needed more information on what was being sought.

"This is not a denial letter," said Kent Kouba, the office's public records officer. "Only providing me with a quote and some context does not give me anything to put in the report writing system or email search engine."

Kouba said he would need the name of the direct parties on either side or the date and place of the incidents.

Patch emailed Mendrick for that information eight days ago. He has not replied.

On July 5, Patch published a story about Mendrick's allegations against DiCianni.

DiCianni has not returned messages for comment.