Elmhurst Group Blamed For Intimidation

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst resident told the school board this week that she believed a "very loud" group is responsible for intimidating her and others through identity theft, among other things.

Ioana Fernandez provided no proof linking the group, likely Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum, or EPIC, which is led by Tom Chavez. He said he was not responsible.

Fernandez, who belongs to local progressive causes, spoke at Tuesday's meeting of the Elmhurst School District 205 board.

A few months ago, she said she received a lot of spam emails and text messages after she spoke at a school board meeting.

"The next morning, my phone started ringing, and it hasn't stopped," Fernandez said. "I had to disable my voicemail. It was disturbing and created some disruption in our family life."

She said her family now experiences strangers coming up to the door who know her name. And she said her husband has suffered identity theft in the last few months.

Fernandez also said she still consistently receives spam messages. This is in spite of a service that she pays for that searches for her personal information online and removes it, she said.

She said she was not alone, contending other residents experienced the same thing after speaking at board meetings. These residents support teachers and want an inclusive education for their children, she said.

"We believe that the attempts to intimidate us are related to the same small group of very loud people who consistently email all of you to find proof of leftist indoctrination, the same people who overwhelm you with (Freedom of Information Act) requests, who distract you from doing your work," she said.

In a text message to Patch on Wednesday, Chavez said Fernandez's comments deserved public attention because she was making accusations against him and others without evidence.

"I can tell you with 100% certainty that I’ve never spammed, visited her house or did any of the other things she is accusing me (EPIC) of," Chavez said.

Elmhurst conservative leader Tom Chavez told Patch that he was not responsible for any illegal activities against resident Ioana Fernandez or anyone else. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Chavez noted that during his recent school board campaign, his website was "maliciously attacked" several times. He said he had the FBI looking into it on the grounds of election interference.

He also said he has received hundreds of spam calls, emails and texts. And he said his family's primary bank account was compromised, with nearly $25,000 in unauthorized transactions.

"I did what most people do, especially in this new era of cybercrime, I took precautions to protect myself," Chavez said. "I would be a fool to blame Ioana or any of the other (Progressives for Change) people in the room last night for my personal information being compromised, unless I had direct evidence."

He continued, "Ioana and the rest of her crew are losing ground every day. So, the tactics have turned to what you saw last night, more accusations and name-calling. Zero facts."

Fernandez is one of the administrators of the Facebook group titled, "Respect our Students and Educators D205."