Elmhurst Official Downplays Facebook Page Role

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst Alderman Mark Mulliner played down his role Monday as the creator of a Facebook page critical of Elmhurst School District 205.

Mulliner has not returned Patch's calls about the page in recent weeks. But a reporter was able to get a one-minute interview with him before a City Council committee meeting.

Patch asked Mulliner about his role with Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum, or EPIC, given his creation of its Facebook page.

"That doesn't mean anything," said Mulliner, who was the district's technology director years ago. "I was the guy who was asked to put it up."

The group's members contend the school district is pushing critical race theory and "equity of outcomes."

Asked whether critical race theory was being taught in local schools, Mulliner said, "I guess you'll have to watch the school district to find that one out."

On its website, the group maintains that it persuaded Elmhurst Public Library to move the book, "It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health," to the adult section from the children's area.

Last week, the library's director, Mary Beth Harper, said the library received a request to move the book, but did not grant it. The book includes parts about straight and LGBT sexuality.

Nearly a week later, the group's contention remains on its website.

Asked about what Harper said, Mulliner said, "That's not what we were told," adding Harper would be the one to know.

Mulliner ended the interview, saying he wanted to greet constituents.

At last week's City Council meeting, a resident denounced Mulliner's creation of the page. She noted the page's administrators let an image of Hillary Clinton in blackface remain for two weeks, even after being told about it.

After the page was criticized at a school board meeting, the image was taken down.

Mulliner did not respond to her comments during the meeting.

Formed in January, the group is part of a growing national parents' rights movement. The local organization says it wants to hold District 205 accountable and promote a "diverse marketplace of ideas." It says it opposes the indoctrination of students.

Although the organization calls for transparency from the district, it recently made its Facebook page private. It has nearly 280 members.

In an email to Patch last week, one of the group's leaders, Tom Chavez, blamed "trolls" for the decision to make the page private. He said they were more only interested in "propagating their ideology."

Patch requested to join the page last week. It never posted on the page when it was public, so it could not be considered a "troll." But the page's administrators, including Chavez and Mulliner, have not permitted Patch to join.

In November, Mulliner took part in an anti-mask mandate protest at Emerson Elementary School.