Ex-Elmhurst Mayor Denies Quote That Is On Video

ELMHURST, IL — Dupage County Board member Pete DiCianni, an Elmhurst Republican, is denying a quote that is attributed to him in both Elmhurst Patch and the Elmhurst Independent, a local newspaper. The catch: He can be heard on video saying it.

At a June 27 pro-police rally outside the Elmhurst police station, the former Elmhurst mayor is seen holding a "We back police" sign. While passing a group of counterprotesters, a finger-pointing DiCianni shouted, "You leave our town then!" Then he added, "I'm not playing."

He appeared to direct his statements to three younger counterprotesters — one appearing to be as young as 10. On the video, it could not be heard what the trio said, if anything, to DiCianni. After DiCianni shouted to the three, a police officer went between the politician and the counterprotesters.

Elmhurst Patch published the "leave our town" quote two days after the protest, and the Elmhurst Independent included the quote in a later story.

On Wednesday, DiCianni told Patch no video clip exists of him asking people to leave town. He said it was a statement made up by Sheila Evans, but did not provide any evidence. In a letter to the DuPage County Board, Evans, an Elmhurst resident, recommended DiCianni resign if he does not have the "stable temperament required for the job."

In an October 2012 story in Patch, Evans, then a York High School student, was pictured sitting next to then-Mayor DiCianni during a City Council meeting. She was the winner of the Mayor for a Day contest sponsored by Character Counts.

Evans emailed her writings about DiCianni and the pro-police rally, and none of the pieces included DiCianni's quote about leaving town.

"It is extremely strange that Mr. DiCianni would seek to attribute this to me when I have in no way mentioned this in any of my social media postings, phone calls, public comments, or emails," Evans said in an email.

Even though DiCianni denied the quote, he sent Patch a screenshot of its story with the link to the video in which he tells the counterprotesters to leave town.

"I'm sure if there was such a clip, it would be all over the internet," DiCianni said in a text message to Patch. "Just a point of clarification. Again, I would hope you run a correction on that."

At a county board meeting earlier this month, DiCianni, who initially defended himself, said he made a mistake when he walked up unmasked to a counterprotester and spoke loudly in the person's face.

Later the day of the rally, he emailed a Black Lives Matter supporter who demanded his resignation to "stick" her vote in "her a--." He told the board that his comment to the Elmhurst woman was "not my finest moment and something I do regret."

Under pressure, DiCianni stepped down as chairman of the board's Health and Human Services Committee. The board's chairman, Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican, chastised DiCianni for robocalls that asserted Democratic board members wanted to defund police. The calls, Cronin said, were misleading.

DiCianni was Elmhurst's mayor from 2009 to 2012, when he left 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. His seat is next up for election in 2022.

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

Other recent stories about Pete DiCianni:

Elmhurst Politician Tells Off Constituent About Protest

Elmhurst Politician's Rebuke Of Constituent Sparks Reaction

Elmhurst Politician Chastised By DuPage County Leader

Elmhurst Politician Expresses Regret In Handling Critics

Is Elmhurst Politician Right On Police Defunding Claim?

Listen To Elmhurst Politician's Controversial Robocall

Elmhurst Politician Clashes With GOP DuPage Colleagues