Elmhurst Park District Lays Off Employees

ELMHURST, IL — With programs shut down during the pandemic, the Elmhurst Park District has taken a big hit.

On Oct. 31, the district laid off 15 of its 75 full-time employees. This followed the decision to furlough 31 full-time employees May 31. Sixteen of those workers were recalled over time, with the remaining laid off.

Meanwhile, hundreds of part-time employees have been furloughed.

The information on employees came from the district's executive director, Jim Rogers, in response to inquiries from Elmhurst Patch.

This year, the park district's income has dropped by more than a third as a result of the pandemic — to about $12 million, from more than $18 million the year before.

The park district's property tax income is unaffected, but money generated by its programs dropped by nearly two-thirds.

Other park districts are seeing similar effects. For instance, the Park District of La Grange's fitness center is seeing 50 percent less use this year.

The Elmhurst district's financial situation is a far cry, though, from the months just before the coronavirus hit. Then the park board was considering the Vision 2020 plan, which called for spending more than $100 million in projects. Even then, some concerns about costs drove the board to delay putting the issue to voters.