'Make-Work' Requests Upset Elmhurst-Area Agency

ELMHURST, IL – Bensenville Fire District No. 1, which serves residents between Elmhurst and Bensenville, is complaining about public records requests.

At an Elmhurst City Council committee meeting earlier this month, Paul DeMichele, the district's controller, said his agency spent $8,000 – about one-fourth of its overhead – on answering the "make-work" requests.

He pointed to a 2019 email in which a supporter of the White Pines Community Alliance referred to the group's requests to the fire district. She wrote, "Lol, this is great, that will keep them busy and ring up those bills. Lol."

In March, the district's board discussed the requests from two people – David Giuliani, a reporter with Patch, and Jim Brill, a member of the White Pines Community Alliance.

According to the March meeting minutes, Giuliani's requests cost the district $480 and Brill's $2,380. The minutes don't detail how the three board members reacted to the bills.

DeMichele is supposed to handle the district's paperwork, but the board has given the responsibility to answer records requests to its attorney, Patrick Bond.

Patch sent two public records requests to the fire district – one on Jan. 20 and the other on Feb. 22.

The first one sought basic documents – the district's employment agreement with DeMichele, its last audit, its last "accountant's compilation report" and the last six instances in which a board member received $50 travel payments. Patch also asked for the fake "official ballot" that the district mailed to residents.

For the second request, Patch sought a copy of the district's ethics ordinance, which state law mandates every public body have. Bond said the district did not have the document, saying the agency must have lost it.

Fire District No. 1 has owned no fire trucks or station for more than three decades. Instead, it pays two other agencies – Elmhurst and Bensenville Fire District No. 2 – to provide service to the unincorporated area.

State Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison, has proposed legislation that would merge District No. 1 into No. 2, a move that District No. 1 officials oppose.

At the meeting this month, Elmhurst officials explained how they would handle the merger if the legislation passed. They said Elmhurst residents have subsidized fire services for unincorporated residents.

Patch left messages for comment with DeMichele and Paul Guerino, one of the three board members.