Photos Of Maskless Elmhurst Dignitaries Questioned

Elmhurst IL

21 September, 2021

5:06 PM

Description

ELMHURST, IL – Earlier this month, the local chamber of commerce held its annual awards event. Except one woman, participants appeared maskless in photos published in a weekly newspaper. A reader asked Patch why that was the case. The reader noted that students in schools were required to wear face coverings, as were people in other meetings, including those of the Elmhurst City Council. Photos from the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry's 102nd Annual Awards Gala at the Knights of Columbus appeared in the Elmhurst Independent. In one of them, Elmhurst's last four mayors – Scott Levin and predecessors Steve Morley, Pete DiCianni and Tom Marcucci – posed for a photo together. They wore no face coverings, but Morley could be seen holding a mask. In an interview with Patch on Monday, Levin said the meeting had been a breakfast, noting people aren't required to wear masks while eating. He also said the mayors discussed whether to appear in the photo with or without masks. "What's the point of a picture with a mask on?" the mayor asked. Before Monday's council meeting, the mayor and aldermen posed for professional photos together. They appeared in some with masks and others without. Levin said he received an email from the resident who contacted Patch. The mayor said that while he could see the concern, he has received no other complaints. He said he was ahead of many other towns in bringing back masks to City Hall last month. John Quigley, the chamber's CEO, responded to a Patch inquiry about the event, explaining how it was handled. "The mayors were masked, but removed them for the photo," he said. "Attendees also were masked to start the event and then through the food line, but removed masks to eat breakfast during our awards program."