Elmhurst Official Under Fire For Comments About Local Group

ELMHURST, IL — An Elmhurst alderwoman has apologized for her accusation that a local group is making false claims and "exploiting a tragedy" in the debate over adding to the fire department's services.

Two weeks ago, a board member for the Annie LeGere Foundation spoke before a City Council committee on which Ward 1 Alderwoman Marti Deuter sits. The foundation was created after 13-year-old Annie LeGere died in 2015 from a severe allergic reaction during a slumber party.

The representative, Liz Ambrogi, referred to Annie LeGere's death in her four minutes of comments before the committee, calling it a tragedy. But she did not directly connect the tragedy to the lack of advanced life support on fire trucks.

In the last few weeks, the issue of advanced life support has dominated the mayoral race. While the local firefighters union backs adding the service, much of the City Council has expressed opposition. Now, advanced life support is provided by the local private ambulance service, Metro Paramedic Services, a subsidiary of Superior Ambulance.

In her presentation, Ambrogi praised the ability of local firefighters to handle advanced life support and contended Superior had poor online ratings. She noted the foundation four years ago offered to pay the $80,000 for advanced life support equipment on city fire trucks.

"That offer is still on the table," she said.

Ambrogi, who is a friend of the LeGere family, pointed to nearby fire departments that provide the additional service.

In an email on March 11, three days after the meeting, Alderwoman Deuter told Ambrogi she was "deeply concerned" with the misrepresentations that she said Ambrogi made on the quality of care Annie LeGere received from the Elmhurst Fire Department, which oversees the private ambulance contract.

"You have suggested that Annie’s life may have been saved if Elmhurst equipped its fire apparatus with ALS capability," Deuter said in the email, titled "Exploiting a Tragedy." "You have also suggested that Annie’s life may have been saved if firefighters, rather than Metro paramedics, staffed Elmhurst’s ambulances."

Deuter said that as she understood the facts, Anne LeGere received care from qualified paramedics.

"Neither ALS on fire apparatus nor firefighters staffing the ambulances would have changed the trajectory of that tragic night," Deuter said. "To suggest otherwise is a disservice to the public who hears your inflammatory and false claims and is an exploitation of a young girl’s tragic death."

Deuter then explained the purpose of her email.

"Recognizing the deep pain of Annie LeGere’s family and friends, no one wants to publicly present the facts of her death to refute your claims. Instead, I’m sending this email to ask you to stop utilizing false claims to support changes you would like to see at the Fire Department," Deuter said.

Shelly LeGere, Annie LeGere's mother, responded by email March 15, four days after Deuter's message. She said she was appalled at Deuter's accusing her friend of misrepresentations and inflammatory and false claims.

"The level of insensitivity and lack of empathy you have displayed is indescribable," Shelly LeGere said. "I had truly hoped that there would come a time at some point that the city would show some regret and offer an apology for the inadequate care my daughter (received). I have been robbed of the most important person in my life, my amazing Annie, a lifetime of memories to be made and dreams to be fulfilled, gone."

When asked by Patch about her email, Deuter apologized to the LeGere family "for any pain I caused them."

"I made a mistake in responding to social media posts," Deuter said in an email. "I will not make any further comments out of respect for the family. I continue to be willing to meet one-on-one with Mrs. LeGere, but I will not engage in discussion through the press or social media."

Deuter did not identify the social media posts.

In an interview, Shelly LeGere said she has since spoken to the alderwoman by phone and that she was considering meeting with her. She called the alderwoman's message "beyond hurtful."

"I can't believe Marti would send Liz a letter like that," she said. "One thing I can tell you about Liz is that she has been on the board of my daughter's foundation since Day 1. No matter what she has going on, she has been my biggest advocate."

Ambrogi said Deuter's emailed criticism appears election-related. Deuter, who is running unopposed in the April 6 election, last week endorsed mayoral candidate Scott Levin, who contends the costs of adding advanced life support are too much, particularly with firefighter pensions and other benefits. (The firefighters union has responded to this argument.) Candidate Mark Mulliner takes the same position, while candidate Michael Bram is promoting the addition of the service. All three men are aldermen.

"Words cannot begin to describe how devastated I was to get such an accusatory, demeaning, and inaccurate email about a topic so dear to my heart and one for which I have worked very hard for the past 5 years," Ambrogi said in an email to Patch.

The Annie LeGere Foundation led the effort for the state law requiring first responders to be equipped with EpiPens.