Elmhurst Politician Tells Off Constituent About Protest

ELMHURST, IL — Pete DiCianni, a DuPage County Board member and a former Elmhurst mayor, told a constituent over the weekend to "stick" her vote in her "a--" when she emailed her criticism about his participation in a pro-police rally.

On Saturday afternoon, Elmhurst resident Lauren Sussman sent a message to DiCianni's county email account to say she was "extremely disappointed" in his actions and participation in the demonstration earlier that day. Addressing the county board member, "Mr. DiCianni," she demanded his resignation and suggested he read "How to be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi.

"You made Black people in our community feel unwelcome," she said. "At a critical time in history, you chose to play the part of politician, instead of a human. You showed you have no ability to empathize with oppressed community members, to be open to understanding their struggles, and you left them in the dust. You are a terrible representation of the place I call home."

Fifteen minutes later, DiCianni wrote back, "Go stick you(r) vote in your a--! I stood up for my cops today."

Elmhurst Patch sent email and phone messages to DiCianni on Monday morning. In a brief phone conversation, he said he would answer the email but not take questions over the phone.

Patch asked DiCianni whether his response to Sussman would help bring people to the cause of supporting law enforcement. It also sought his reactions to the deaths of George Floyd and other unarmed African Americans during encounters with police. He did not answer those questions, but sent a statement to Patch three hours later.

"We allowed and personally supported Black Lives Matter to demonstrate without protest or conflict," DiCianni said. "We gave them a permit and a safe venue. Unfortunately, that courtesy was not given to our police officers and their families.

"Instead they were met with hatred from young kids with megaphones shouting at and taunting our police officers and their families. As a member of the county's Judicial Public Safety Committee and a proud former mayor, I fully support and will continue to support DuPage County law enforcement. We set the bar on training and policing for others to follow."

Asked whether Sussman was one of the "young kids" who were counterprotesting, DiCianni did not respond.

In a Facebook message to Patch, Sussman said she was not at the rally but saw videos of it. She said she is living this summer in New Orleans, where she is going to school.

A few video snippets of the demonstration made their way on Facebook over the weekend. In one clip, DiCianni could be heard telling counterprotesters, "You leave our town then," but it was unclear what they said to him.

In another clip, he told counterprotesters, "I was the mayor. We fund our cops, you better believe it." He said the city has a good police department and "we don't hurt people."

He said the city was welcoming to everyone, including gays, lesbians, Blacks and Latinos.

DiCianni, a Republican, represents District 2, which includes Elmhurst and parts of Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and other towns.

DiCianni was Elmhurst's mayor from 2009 to 2012, leaving to become a county board member. He is CEO of DiCianni Graphics in Addison and makes about $52,000 a year as a county board member.

Two other county board members also represent District 2, Republican Sean Noonan and Democrat Elizabeth Chaplin.

Last month, Noonan got into hot water after he "liked" a Facebook post that asserted people won't stop rioting until a few of them "are shot dead." He later told the Daily Herald he never meant to endorse the comment and has since "unliked" it, telling the newspaper it was a mistake to post it.

Noonan is a Bloomingdale police officer and a former special investigator in the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.