Illegal immigration finally dead

That was basically the headline of Illinoize blog on June 9, 2007 after Judy Sigwalt and Paul Humpfer refused to discuss it at the Village Board meeting.

One Year Later
So, here we sit … nearly one year after a discussion of an ordinance (not a vote on the ordinance) was first introduced in an Audit and Finance meeting … so I thought it’d be appropriate to give a wrap up of the issue over the year.

Despite the fact that Bill Sarto wasn’t confident in the strength of his own opinion, his initial position on the proposed illegal immigration ordinance ultimately turned out to be the correct decision for Carpentersville, and one which the entire Board has adopted. Folks will recall that Sarto said illegal immigration must be dealt with at the federal level and any attempt to establish an ordinance at the local level would meet with a costly lawsuit that would be fought at the taxpayers’ expense, and put the plans for the future of the Village at risk. Further, the Village could wait for the outcome of a lawsuit against Hazleton, PA whose ordinance Carpentersville modeled its own draft ordinance after.

Today, the Board is united in that opinion.

Riding to Re-election
But, it was not always so. Trustees Sigwalt and Humpfer were determined to push Sarto to talk about it. They ran nearly their entire re-election campaign based on it — and brought Keith Hinz onto their “All American Team” ticket. They were critical of Sarto for his attempts to deter discussion of the matter.

Upon re-election, Sigwalt exclaimed “You bet we’re gonna talk about it now”, referring to the issue of illegal immigration, and the sense of “mandate” they appeared to get from the voters. (Note: 20% voter turnout hardly represents a “mandate”).

“You Bet We’re Gonna Talk About It Now”
However, something happened. Sarto decided to “call their bluff”. He put the item on the agenda for a vote. Now the time had come to put action behind the words. Yet, when Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski made a motion for the agenda item, Sigwalt, Humpfer, Hinz and the rest of the Board remained silent. One could sense them even slouching in their chairs.

And so, with even the original proponents of the ordinance backing down, the issue of illegal immigration was dead in Carpentersville. Except that the Board felt obligated to let residents continue to come before the Board at their meetings to rail in seemingly endless succession either for or against the ordinance that never existed as official Village business — something that should not have been allowed because the Board had voted to table discussion of the issue.

Residents and Visitors often criticized Sarto for his positions on the issue, explaining why illegal immigration was a problem in Carpentersville and why the Village needed to do something about it. Such criticism should have been leveled at Trustees Sigwalt, Humpfer and Hinz, since they were the candidates specifically elected to deal with the alleged problems of illegal immigration in Carpentersville.  The criticism should not have been to bring it back, but to toss it out altogether.

Never any evidence
To date, no direct evidence for an illegal immigration problem has been presented, despite the claims of Sigwalt and Humpfer to have a large amount of evidence. A former resident requested that evidence from Judy Sigwalt. At an August 7th, 2007 Village Board meeting, he came before the Board during public comments to report — and question why — Sigwalt referred him to Community Development Director Cindy McCammack, rather than giving him the information she claimed to have. According to his report, McCammack sent him a FOIA request form, but could not fulfill his request because she was unaware of the “evidence” that Sigwalt was referring to.

Paul Humpfer had also previously made the claim, according to newspaper reports, that several businesses he’d spoken to were supportive of the ordinance. However, Humpfer confided privately that there were no businesses he’d been in contact with that supported the ordinance.

More Lies
Unfortunately, this was not the only time these two stretched the truth in order to push their personal agendas. For instance, back in October 2006, as published in the Daily Herald, Trustee Sigwalt made statements that insinuated that officials in West Chicago and Lisle had called her to voice their support for the ordinance. When officials in those towns expressed their bewilderment at the comment, Sigwalt went back on her original statement and said that it was residents who contacted her. The Daily Herald reported:

Sigwalt couldn’t pinpoint how many West Chicago and Lisle residents had called or e-mailed her.

Humpfer’s seat in jeopardy
All this wrangling and deceit. For what? So that these two could retain their seats on the Board? Ok. Yet, one should wonder about the future of Paul Humpfer’s place on the Board as he goes through a criminal investigation for domestic battery, allegedly committed in May of this year. Humpfer denies the allegations, but after the granting of a continuance in the case on Tuesday, all appearances are that the state’s attorney’s investigation into the incidents have some legs. Only time will tell. Given the recent outrage over Sen. Craig’s alleged actions that led him to consider resignation, one should be curious why there is not more coverage and discussion about the allegations against Humpfer. Seeing as though its the second allegation, it would seem prudent for residents to call for the resignation of Humpfer.

Holding the Black Cloud over the Village
The actions of these two Trustees have not served the Village; have allowed the black cloud created in the previous administrations (of which they were a part of) to remain over the Village; and have at times hindered the ability of the Board to conduct its business.

One year with the illegal immigration issue hanging over the Village and Carpentersville is no better for it.

Thankfully, though, the issue is dead as a local one in Carpentersville. Most residents have accepted that it is out of local governments hands, and that the federal government will continue to give the appearance of caring about citizens’ concerns, while doing little-to-nothing about it. The Board isn’t interested in discussing it. And, even most visitors to this blog are done with it.

Now … let’s move on to understand the identity of the Village, so that Carpentersville might have hope of rebuilding.

The Future
Some have threatened to remove Sarto at the next election. Unfortunately, Sarto is often his own worst enemy, allowing emotional arguments to rule. But, there are two things to consider – two things to watch for: 1) Things have begun to happen, particularly in the past 2 years; and 2) those things are due in great part to the relative consistency of the Village officials and staff. Sarto’s recent State of the Village Address (see link in the sidebar) highlights those accomplishments. Provided those continue, and the divisiveness can be mitigated, it might provide good reason to keep Sarto at the helm (although he shouldn’t let his position – nor this posting – go to his head).