Petition Against Elmhurst Restaurant Plan Becomes Issue

ELMHURST, IL — Residents opposing a parking lot plan at Roberto's Ristorante & Pizzeria have noted an online petition with hundreds of signatures in support of their cause. But only about a third of signers are Elmhurst residents.

The group, Elmhurst Neighbors United, disclosed its Change.org petition signatures to the city, including the towns of residence of the signers. A copy of the petition is on the city's website.

This week, the group gave Elmhurst Patch its most updated petition. It now has more 767 signatures — 277 of which are from Elmhurst, or about 36 percent.

In its Feb. 11 edition, the weekly Elmhurst Independent first reported on the fact that out-of-towners make up the big majority of signers. The newspaper's front-page headline was "'Neighbors United' petition lacking local signatures." This was the newspaper's first foray into the parking lot controversy, according to its online database.

The newspaper noted the signatures came from all over the country, including from Alaska and Hawaii.

"The petition seems like a travel brochure of the entire United States," the newspaper's reporter, Dee Longfellow, wrote. "There were also a few phony names that can't be repeated in a family newspaper."

One thing the Independent apparently did not do — seek the comment of Elmhurst Neighbors United.

Nonethless, the group posted the story on its Facebook page. At last one commenter pointed out Roberto's is an advertiser in the Independent. Over at least the last couple of months, the restaurant has run quarter-page ads every week in the Independent.

Reporter Longfellow did not return messages for comment. The Independent is part of a chain of suburban Chicago weeklies.

In a Facebook message to Patch, Shannon Kelly of Neighbors United said the Elmhurst Independent did not seek her group's comment. She noted Roberto's advertising in the newspaper.

Kelly said it was clear the Independent was "not neutral in writing the article."

In posting the newspaper's story to the group's Facebook page, Kelly wrote, "The Elmhurst Independent tried to invalidate our petition of Roberto's parking lot because it has out-of-state signatures. This tends to happen on Change.org, as the platform shows petitions to viewers nationwide."

In an email to Patch, Pasquale Moreci or Roberto's said the Independent's story was a surprise to the restaurant.

"Not anyone from the paper has contacted anyone in my family or myself nor have had any discussion with them or given them information," Moreci said.

The city is still considering Roberto's plan. The next hearing is set for March 16.