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Elgin mayor, council push for Pedote's resignation

Elgin city officials said Saturday they are awaiting the resignation of Planning and Zoning Commissioner Anthony Pedote after his Facebook posting last month landed him in hot water.

The city council sent a letter to Pedote on Nov. 19 requesting his resignation after approving the action during an executive session on Nov. 12. The letter asked Pedote to resign in writing, but it did not specify a deadline, said Elgin Mayor David Kaptain.

"If we don't receive a response from him, it will be up to the city council for further action," said Kaptain.

Pedote said Saturday the matter is under investigation.

"Upon advice of counsel, I cannot make further comment," Pedote said.

Kaptain said the city council believes Pedote's Facebook post misrepresented the injuries suffered by a female cabdriver and an SUV driver involved in an altercation on Oct. 22. Kaptain also said Pedote's post criticized the police department, misrepresented the city, involved a photo unrelated to the accident and misled the public on social media.

The 34-year-old cabdriver and the 59-year-old driver of an SUV got into the altercation on Oct. 22, on the 600 block of Sherman Avenue, according to the police report.

Pedote posted about the report on the Facebook page, "What's Happening in Elgin IL," which has more than 3,360 members, as well as on his own personal page. The posts said the police mishandled the case and offered $300 for information about the incident.

The posts, which have since been deleted, included a photo of a person with a head injury with stitches. The photo was a random one taken from the Internet and not a picture of the cabdriver, Pedote said earlier. Pedote said he eventually added a comment to his Facebook post clarifying the photo was not of the cabdriver.

"The picture was merely to say, 'Hey, this grabs your attention.' It wasn't to sensationalize it," he said earlier.

He said at the time that he was acting as a private citizen and not as a commissioner.

Police officials had responded with a post on the department's own Facebook page, saying the information contained in the post was false but did not identify Pedote by name.

Pedote, who admitted to knowing the cabdriver, said at the time it wasn't his intention to be misleading.

Pedote has been a commissioner for about six years, first serving on the zoning commission before it merged about three years ago with the planning commission. The position was an appointment and unpaid, Kaptain said.

• Daily Herald Staff Writer Elena Ferrarin contributed to this report.

Facebook post gets heat from Elgin police Man posts photo of head wound - but not of cabbie he was defending

Elgin Mayor David Kaptain
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