Elmhurst Officials Praise Black Lives Matter Protesters

ELMHURST, IL — Participants in Elmhurst's Black Lives Matter protests received praise Monday from top city officials Monday, with one alderman proclaiming, "Black lives do matter."

At the regular City Council meeting, Mayor Steve Morley announced the city was planning a public forum for residents to ask questions about the police department and its policies and training. No date has been set, but Morley said he was working with the police chief and city manager on the event.

The forum, Morley said, is being held because residents and aldermen have been asking many questions about the police department since George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police. Morley noted the local Black Lives Matter protests.

"I'm proud to see members of our community exercising their First Amendment rights and doing so in a peaceful manner," the mayor said. "Some of our younger citizens are driving this. I truly appreciate what they're doing."

Alderman Scott Levin said he had attended both major protests — the one at York Street and North Avenue on June 2 and the other at Wilder Park on Saturday, where an estimated 800 to 1,000 people attended.

He said the events were productive and that he was impressed with the speeches during the Wilder Park event, with people of color talking about their experiences in Elmhurst. Their statements were educational, he said.

"It wasn't necessarily a fight between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter," Levin said. "I'll say to you that black lives do matter."

He noted about 2 percent of Elmhurst residents are African American. And when they talk about prejudicial treatment they may experience, "we as a city need to be sensitive to what they're saying to us."

Levin said he came from the perspective of a former deputy director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and the son of a police officer.

One of the Wilder Park speakers, he said, was a north-side Elmhurst resident who said the Floyd situation could have happened to her son.

"That could have been her son elsewhere. I hope and believe that wouldn't happen in Elmhurst. I believe our officers are well-educated and well-trained, and they know the bounds on which they must operate," Levin said. "I'm not saying nothing bad could happen in Elmhurst. But I can honestly say if it did happen, we as a council would react. There is no place for such misconduct in our town."

Levin said he did not agree with everything he heard at the events and took exception to the calls to defund the police.

Alderwoman Dannee Polomsky said she had faith in the local police. But she said if society invested more resources in education and health, it would rely less on law enforcement.

She said she attended Saturday's protest, calling it a success and thanking the police for their assistance. She said she listened and expressed support for her neighbors who feel "forgotten and excluded" because of their race.