They 'Lusted After Our Women': Elmhurst-Area Official

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst's north side may again get hurt because of "lustful eyes" from elsewhere, a fire district official said Monday.

At a City Council committee meeting, Paul Guerino, secretary of the Bensenville Fire District No. 1 board, argued against consolidating his district with Bensenville Fire District No. 2.

District No. 1, which has no fire trucks or firefighters, covers the unincorporated areas between Elmhurst and Bensenville. It pays Elmhurst and District No. 2 to provide fire services.

As he has before, Guerino, a retired teacher, pointed to the consolidation of Elmhurst's school districts, which happened by referendum in 1974.

District 46, which served elementary and middle school students south of Armitage Avenue in Elmhurst, sought to unite with York High School and District 3, which covered north of Armitage.

At the time, downtown Elmhurst was "literally a ghost town," Guerino said.

"The schools in District 46 weren't being maintained. Up in District 3, we had unlimited field trips. We had a salary that left District 46's in the dust, and everybody was happy," he said.

Those south of Armitage, Guerino said, looked to the industrial park and car dealerships in north Elmhurst.

"And as we say on the streets, they lusted after our women," he said.

The support for the merger was strong south of Armitage and weak north of it, Guerino said.

"If (Bensenville Fire) District No. 1 is destroyed, the same thing is going to happen to those taxpayers that happened when District 46 looked with lustful eyes on our money," he said. "They're going to be taken over the coals again."

Members of the city's Public Safety Committee did not respond to Guerino's comments. But they later discussed how the city would handle the possible merger of the fire districts.