Elmhurst Mayor Backs Library In Controversy

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin said Monday he looked into the local public library's decision to bar a parents' rights group from seeking petition signatures inside the building.

At a City Council meeting, Levin said he spent about three hours interviewing people and wrote two extensive emails about it.

"When there's a valid concern, it's not ignored," Levin said

The mayor did not say at the meeting what he found. Patch obtained one of Levin's emails Tuesday morning.

In the email to local conservative leader Tom Chavez, Levin pointed to the library's policy barring petition-gathering inside the building.

"If your group were simply meeting to discuss their viewpoints, there would be no issue, but it is my understanding that petitions were being circulated and signatures solicited, as was advertised on social media," Levin.

The mayor said a video clip that Chavez sent him showed petitioners being advised of the rule, which the library enforced.

"Its legal counsel has confirmed that the Library is appropriately enforcing its rules, which ... are similar to those of virtually every other public library," Levin said.

He said the library director, Mary Beth Harper, confirmed the library's commitment to staying apolitical. A petition group with an opposite position, he said, would be treated the same.

At the meeting, Levin was responding to three residents who spoke during the public comments part of the council meeting.

On March 2, Elmhurst Public Library officials warned circulators of the "Right to Parent" petition to stop their efforts inside the library or the police would be called.

The petitioners reserved a room at the library to seek signatures and advertised the effort on social media.

During public comments, Chavez said he emailed Levin about the library's action and that he got a response back.

"I have to tell you it was unsatisfactory because there wasn't much in it, there wasn't much meat on the bone," Chavez said.

Chavez and residents David Zurkowski and Carolyn Carrillo called for the city to further investigate the matter.

In an interview last month, Harper, the library's director, said the staff applies its policy on petitions across all groups that reserve meeting rooms.

The library asked the parents' rights petitioners to seek signatures outside the building, but not inside.

When the incident occurred, the city's policy stated no group or individual was permitted to circulate or solicit signatures from patrons or staff within the library.

A couple of weeks later, the library board decided to add to its policy that signature-gathering is allowed outside the building, but must be at least 25 feet from the entrance. It said such efforts must not disrupt library operations or impede people from entering or leaving the library.

The meeting rooms are on the first floor, separate from much of the library. It's possible for signature-gathering to take place in one of the rooms without most library patrons realizing it.

The library runs independently of the city government, but the mayor appoints library board members, subject to the council's approval.

In her comments, Carrillo suggested the new policy would be more disruptive to library patrons.

"Does that mean all of our candidates can be in a line and harass every single patron as they walk into the door?" she said. "The policy the way it stood before did make sense."

Both Chavez and Zurkowski said the petitioners first set up a petition-signing event at a local restaurant, but the owner later told the organizers they could not use the space.

"That business was called by the same people who tried to chase us out of the library," Chavez said. "Not that we were unwelcome, but they were afraid of the consequences of having us sign our petition."

Across Illinois, the petition's supporters are gathering signatures to get an advisory question on the November ballot.

It calls for written consent from a minor's parent or guardian for such things as non-emergency medical procedures, medications, pharmaceuticals, gender modification procedures, and gender identification counseling or therapy.

After Monday's council meeting, Chavez emailed city officials, saying local progressives portray the petition as "right-wing extremism," but he said it was not.

"Many parents are rightfully concerned about Illinois House Bill proposals that, if passed, would strip away parental rights," Chavez said. "A more thorough and transparent investigation into this incident is warranted. Public institutions in our community are required by law to treat everyone fairly and with dignity and respect. Local government officials and/or their appointees cannot use political power and influence to chill speech they disagree with."