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Good morning, Carpentersville!
I want to start off today by addressing comments out there that seek to impugn what’s written on this blog as “love letters to Sarto”. Is that the best they can do to try to smear this site? Readers know that this site is filled with a large volume of information — much of it corroborated, whether by the media, Board meeting minutes, or other sources. None of it refuted.
Heck, most of it ended up being admitted to by the parties to the transgressions.
Why hasn’t it been refuted? Because they can’t. Every thing that has been reported on this site is true and backed up by facts.
Readers know this. They see it. It’s the reason why there are not refuting comments (only the occasion sling of mud from some of the usual suspects that you’ve come to know.) If the information on this website were not true, they would be showing the evidence against it; even more people would be commenting here showing these things to be wrong. (And its not for lack of traffic … the last 30 days have had approximately 7,000 views by nearly 4,000 unique visitors. By next week, traffic since mid-July 2007 will have topped 60,000. )
That they have not refuted the information is good reason to believe that they can not.
“The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.”
— Thomas Jefferson
That is truly what Carpentersville is facing. Meetings of this “elite”, albeit self-proclaimed, had been occurring in Village meeting rooms … and they continue to occur, at private residences … and even the “gang of five” (as they have now so been dubbed) meeting at restaurants together.
The “elite” conspire to smear those who would call them out for their actions … like they have tried with this site, and with Sarto, and with others — the latest being Nate Spain, who has done much good and is reportedly well-regarded by those on the Fire Pension Board.
After Spain objected to the continued presence of Paul Humpfer on the Board (and the Audit & Finance Commission), since Humpfer had been convicted of domestic battery, the “small elite” began a smear campaign against Spain, even spreading lies and misinformation about him. As they do to any residents who wish to speak out — as they did initially to Sherry Dobson and Mike Sievertson, until they backed down.
This is a regime of intimidation and threats, as folks should see is becoming clearer and clearer. That is the reasoning behind the citation issued to Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, as well.
Unable to find anything else that will “stick” to Sarto, they have now turned to calling out his “rants” and “lectures”. It would be easy for Sarto to simply shut up and take that angle away from them. But, I believe that would be doing precisely what they want him to do: be quiet, so their illegal and unethical behavior can fade back into the shadows.
I’ve been thinking on some of the comments that have appeared on some news sites from those opposing Sarto’s “rants” and “lectures”, specifically on the crimes of Paul Humpfer. There are some that just seem a bit foolish. Specifically, it is those that say things like “I don’t condone what Paul Humpfer did but…” and then go on to throw mud at Sarto for being persistent in his condemnation of Humpfer’s crimes.
I have no doubt that Sarto has heard from many who have told him they support what he’s doing and can’t understand why Humpfer — now a convicted criminal — is still on the Board. I don’t doubt it because I have heard the very same, without exception. Unfortunately, because of the intimidation and fear (mixed with some personal insecurity about not being a “good public speaker” or writer) these people don’t want to come to Board meetings to speak out about their outrage. They ask others to do it for them. And still nothing gets done about the problems.
One comment said: I am outraged with the actions of Trustee Humpher. I stated earlier, his actions are indefensible. But you [Sarto] just do not get the fact that your [Sarto’s] actions are equally damaging to Carpentersville. Stop. Get back to business.
In other words, Paul Humpfer’s criminal acts are “indefensible” and worthy of “outrage”, but nothing should be done about them. The Board should just go about business as usual, as though nothing happened.
I completely disagree with the commenter’s assessment. If anything, Sarto’s “rants” and “lectures” should provide some hope that Carpentersville is not really the bastion of criminal activity and government corruption that the presence of Humpfer (and Sigwalt and the “elite”) have said it is (especially when they pass an ordinance that says that domestic battery is acceptable behavior.)
In fact, I would venture to say that the “gang of five” have hurled Carpentersville into achieving that very reputation.
Good morning, Carpentersville!
There is a Special joint meeting of the Village Board and the Planning & Zoning Commission tonight at 7pm in the Village Hall Board room. The purpose of the meeting is to conduct a Planning and Zoning Workshop.
It looks like today will be the nicest weather of the week, with temps expected to reach into the low 70s, and mostly sunny skies, until rain moves in tonight.
Since I mentioned the Courier-News not publishing various letters and speak-outs, I have been told of a dozen or more that have not been published.
Some of those same people have also said that the Daily Herald had not published some letters that were sent to them.
While the Courier-News and Daily Herald certainly do have the right to publish whatever they want in their respective papers, I believe people should know that they are not publishing the majority of items that don’t fit with their editorial agenda.
This information seems consistent with what has been observed in the last few months, since Trustee Humpfer was found guilty of domestic battery. After the conviction, I was copied on many emails from residents and others across the country. Only 1 was supportive of Paul Humpfer. (This was confirmed by at least one member of the Board.)
Since then, there have been numerous comments supportive of Paul Humpfer. However, they all come from the same small group of people. The Speak-outs likely come from those same people as well.
This is while the comments and letters of the rest of the community are ignored, inevitably serving to manipulate this situation to their advantage.
If any one else has called in a Speak-Out, or written a letter, that hasn’t been published, I would love to hear about it. Please either send me an email or leave a comment.
Related:
Good morning, Carpentersville!
It’ll be another chilly start to the morning, with temps in the low 40s; expected to rise into the low 60s by afternoon with sunny skies.
Tonight there is a meeting of the the Park Committee at 7pm in the Conference Room across from the Board Room at Village Hall. They are still looking to fill an open position, so attend the meeting, submit your application to Village President Bill Sarto and work with the Parks Committee to help beautify Carpentersville, plan festivals and parades, etc…
Some who read my posting over the weekend that the Courier-News declined to publish a letter to editor of Audit & Finance Commission member, Nate Spain, (noting that the Daily Herald did publish an edited version of the letter) reported that their own calls to the Speak Out line that were critical of the handling of the domestic battery conviction of Paul Humpfer also were not published.
In the past I had heard that the Courier-News had a history of furthering their editorial agenda by not publishing Speak-Outs and Letters that might contradict that agenda. In this case, it seems that there is an attempt to keep the criticism at a minimum level to make it appear as though there isn’t more public opinion against Humpfer.
In fact, from the looks of some of the Speak-Out comments in the Courier, and comments elsewhere, both the Courier and the Daily Herald have done a good job of keeping the real story from the people … so that they aren’t really sure what the issue is here — that a Carpentersville Village Trustee, Paul Humpfer, was found guilty of attacking his wife with a baseball bat.
Those who have read either of these papers for any length of time, however, know that both often inject a healthy dose of bias into the reporting of most news. Their editorials don’t appear only in the editorial page.
Good morning, New Carpentersville!
Last night was a late night, so this will be relatively short; as I bring you the first edition from … The Twilight Zone.
New Carpentersville is where law breakers get a pass, and law keepers get busted.
At last night’s meeting of the Village Board, in a 5-2 vote, Trustees declared that attacking your wife with a baseball bat isn’t a serious crime in Carpentersville.
According to Trustees Judy Sigwalt, Paul Humpfer, Kay Teeter, Ed Ritter and Keith Hinz, the crime of aggravated battery (commission of battery with a deadly weapon) does not “violate common standards of honesty, decency, and moral turpitude.”
Both the Daily Herald and Courier-News have coverage.
Then, Trustees voted 5-2 in favor of limiting the powers of the Village President to prevent him from saying or doing anything that might lead people to conclude that attacking your wife with a baseball bat isn’t an honest, decent and moral thing to do.
And, finally, Trustees directed the Village Manager and Village Attorney to draw up an ordinance that would remove committee members if they have 3 consecutive meeting absences.
The item was in response to some members of the Audit and Finance Commission having dared make a statement that attacking your wife with a baseball bat is likely not a honest, decent and moral thing to do, by choosing not to attend the commission’s special meeting last week.
Paul Humpfer also announced once again that he plans to return to Carpentersville. Of course, he does. Hammond, IN isn’t the wife-beater-friendly town that Carpentersville is.
Enjoy New Carpentersville. The criminals are.
Good Morning, Carpentersville!
Nice weather expected today with sun and highs approaching 80. Rain this evening and overnight.
The Village Board meets tonight at 7:30pm at Village Hall. The agenda for tonight’s meeting includes 3 items that could be considered related to the recent conviction of Paul Humpfer on domestic battery charges.
Expect there to be lots of comments from those supporting Paul Humpfer. Word is that last Friday night another meeting of the goon squad was held.
The first item related to Humpfer is another opportunity for the Board to declare Humpfer’s Trustee position vacant. Paul Humpfer was charged in this case in August 2007, and found guilty on March 5, 2008. In November 2005, Humpfer’s estranged wife, Jackie, filed for and received an order of protection after an incident that reports say caused a cracked rib, bruised tailbone and other bruises.
Questions about Humpfer’s residency have been circulating for more than a year. Despite requests to the State’s Attorney and Attorney General’s office that go back over a year to March 2007, neither agency has been able to determine whether or not he actually resides in Carpentersville. Humpfer has admitted to living in Hammond, IN since June 2007 and Ms. Humpfer has also made similar statements. Humpfer has stated his intention to return to Carpentersville.
Similar court cases on residency requirements in the Illinois statutes have found that intention to reside in a town — even if one is paying bills at an address in that town — does not meet the requirements for residency.
For more that 2 months (since the conviction; and approaching 9 months since charges were filed), Trustees have basically ignored the issue.
It is likely that they will do so again tonight, and instead vote Humpfer something of a “get out of jail free” card (although it is likely the State’s Attorney will eventually weigh in, regardless).
Rather than deal with the issues of law surrounding Paul Humpfer’s crimes and elected position, Trustees have created a resolution to block any efforts to remove Humpfer.
They have created a resolution to declare that the Village President cannot utilize any counsel or Village resources to seek Paul Humpfer’s removal from office. The resolution was created to protect their friend, Paul Humpfer from the attempts of the Village President to see the law properly enforced.
Also, last month, members of the Audit and Finance Commission declared their intentions not to attend meetings until the status of Paul Humpfer was resolved by the Board. In response, members of the Board, who are Humpfer allies and friends, want to create an ordinance declaring that if a committee member misses 3 consecutive meetings, his/her position would be considered vacant. The Board will discuss the matter tonight, to provide direction to the Village Manager and Village Attorney.
Such a requirement would be a good thing for the Village. However, in this case, the requirement is motivated by politics. Trustees are again using their position to create rules and laws meant to control those who dissent from their opinions and agenda.
Paul Humpfer, Judy Sigwalt, Kay Teeter, Ed Ritter and Keith Hinz really don’t seem to care much for this Village. If they did, they would have solved this problem more than 7 weeks ago (or earlier). It wouldn’t have required all their wasting of time on the likely unenforceable resolution and the discussions.
It simply would have required Paul Humpfer to do the honest, decent and moral thing: resign. Absent that, it would have required the Board to merely do their job and declare the seat vacant.
There would have been no need for quo warranto requests, meeting with Attorneys, discussions with the State’s Attorney’s office and the Attorney General’s office. No need to create additional agenda items and seek other legal counsel.
Instead, these Trustees have wasted time — a lot of time! — with resolutions and discussions. They have likely cost the Village THOUSANDS (as they have in the past several years), and potentially MILLIONS in the future, in their failure to do what is right for the Village of Carpentersville, according the law and their oath to uphold it.
Good morning, Carpentersville!
It’s Cinco de Mayo!
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Saturday’s weather was no fun, but Sunday shaped up to be a beautiful day.
Today is expected to be another nice day; sunny, with temps expected to reach into the low 70s.
If you haven’t been paying attention, the Chicago Cubs lead baseball in most runs, batting average and on-base percentage. The last time they led in on-base percentage was in 1945 when the Cubs last appeared in the World Series. It is only May 5, and it is the Cubs. They lost last night to the first place St. Louis Cardinals, 5 to 3. Stay tuned.
In Carpentersville news this weekend, the Daily Herald had two articles on what’s been going on involving the Trustee position of convicted-domestic-abuser, Paul Humpfer. The first is an editorial of the Herald which — once again — directs criticism toward Mayor Bill Sarto for his involvement in trying to enforce the law.
Sarto seems clearly frustrated, and with good reason. Judy Sigwalt and Paul Humpfer have been part of a series of incidents that have ranged from improper, to full-fledged violations of the law. (I’ve written about this in the past, specifically in the 6-part series “The Trouble with Carpentersville” which you can find in the “Highlights” page linked above, but I’ll provide more on this shortly.) Thus far, they have been allowed to persist in this type of behavior with seeming impunity.
If not for Sarto making all the noise about this, such unacceptable actions from our elected officials would go unknown, at the expense of the residents of the Village. More on that later too.
I may not agree with all of Sarto’s methods, but I do appreciate his tenacity for trying to ensure that those in government do not get away with improper and illegal behaviors.
The second article from the Daily Herald comes from columnist, Amy Mack. Like the first, it seems mostly intended to appeal to ones emotions. Unlike the first, though, it does a better job of capturing the essence of what people like myself are concerned about in this case.
Unfortunately, one sentence taints the article, and in a comment on the Daily Herald website, I talk about that sentence …
A main point that I would take exception to is that it is legal for Paul Humpfer to retain his seat. According to two memos from the Village Attorney, Humpfer committed an infamous crime and is no longer eligible to hold public office.
He quotes Illinois case law that points to the “facts of the case” being criteria for determining whether a crime is “infamous”. The facts of the case have found that Humpfer committed felony aggravated assault. If one is guilty of a felony he is ineligible to hold public office. “Infamous crimes may also be misdemeanors”, the Attorney wrote, if they “violate commonly held standards of honesty, decency and moral turpitude”. If one is guilty of “an infamous crime”, he is ineligible to hold public office.
The memos go on to provide information on how the vacancy would then be filled, adding to the opinion that the law considers Humpfer’s seat vacant.
Ms. Mack is correct about past disagreements on the issues between factions; but there are such political rivalries at every level of government across the land.
It shouldn’t be used as a basis or cover for not doing what is right according to the laws of State, and common sense and decency.
Ms. Mack talks about some sort of “political gain” that Sarto is supposed to be trying to get, but I have to question that motive. What is there to be gained? All I see that might possibly be gained is that people will once again have a government that is open and honest about the business they conduct for the people they serve.
Next, the Courier-News has a Speak-Out and a letter to the editor in today’s edition. The Speak-Out says that Sarto should “leave poor Paul Humpfer alone”. The comment likely comes from one of those in the little illegal immigration clique that controls the government. Perhaps the caller thinks that we all should ignore everyone who is found guilty of attacking his wife with a baseball bat….
Then, there is the letter from Jonathan Radke … another member of the “clique”. “The other” Radke is Chairman of Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration. The letter, just like the Speak-Out, says that the Board should put a stop to Sarto’s actions. Why? Because Sarto is not allowing convicted-woman-basher, Paul Humpfer to get away with breaking the law, both in his personal life and in his public life?!
This is the same way they went about their campaign on illegal immigration, folks. They write letters, call-in Speak-Outs, and make comments at Village Board meetings … all to interfere with, and manipulate Village business. They manipulate — and apparently dupe — the press.
And, finally, there is one little tidbit of info I’ve got for those faithful readers who have hung on to this point. There is yet another little twist to this tale …
On his blog, and on some of the newspaper sites, former Village Trustee candidate Frank Stoneham, stated he is filing a quo warranto with the State’s Attorney against Mayor Sarto, in relation to the letter Sarto sent on April 22, 2008 declaring Paul Humpfer’s seat vacant.
For Mr. Stoneham this might not even require a stamp for postage. He might simply be able to hand it to the State’s prosecutor across the aisle from his defendant’s chair.
On April 23, Mr. Stoneham was in court for a hearing related to alleged violations of conditions of his release. The findings of that hearing were delivered to Judge Susan Clancy-Boles, presiding over a follow-up hearing on May 1, 2008.
This all stems from a sentence handed down in September 2007. Mr. Stoneham was given probation, ordered to attend anger management classes, not allowed to make public comments at Village Board meetings for 1 year, and to sit alone and not have contact with anyone at those Board meetings he chose to attend. The sentence was handed down when Judge Clancy-Boles found Stoneham guilty of assault of resident Paul Calusinski in one case, and disorderly conduct on a separate date, during a Board meeting.
At Village Board meetings, Stoneham has regularly been seen having contact with others, and on at least one occasion was seen distributing flyers promoting his website, with derogatory commentary against Paul Calusinski, President Sarto and Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski.
In court on Thursday, Stoneham was ordered to undergo 26 weeks of anger management classes (cost: $100 each class), was again cautioned to refrain from having contact with anyone at the Board meetings, and warned not to make any further derogatory comments on websites or elsewhere about Calusinski or Sarto (which may be an indication of what the Judge might think of Mr. Stoneham’s false statements about perjury — which reportedly were called baseless — on the part of the State’s witnesses, Paul Calusinski and Mayor Sarto.)
So, a rather long, but hopefully worthwhile wrap-up of weekend Carpentersville information.
Good Morning, Carpentersville!
Today is Day 58 that Paul Humpfer retains a seat on the Board since conviction on 4 counts of domestic battery, and Day 345 since he last had residence in the Village of Carpentersville.
The $0.02 gas-tax went into effect yesterday … with no difference in gas prices from those in surrounding towns …
Rain is expected today — about an 80% chance — with thunderstorms, some severe, later this afternoon. A high of near 73 degrees is expected, with a cool front sweeping in to drop temps into the low 50s overnight. High tomorrow only in the upper 50s.
A letter appearing in the Courier-News today from a 46-year resident of Carpentersville expresses disappointment “that Trustees Kay Teeter, Ed Ritter, Keith Hinz and Judy Sigwalt do not have the character to do the right thing and remove Paul Humpfer from the village board for his conviction on attacking his wife with a baseball bat.” Folks know that Humpfer’s conviction of an infamous crime makes him ineligible to serve on the Board, and he has not had residency in the Village for about 11 months.
One “Speak Out” related to Carpentersville appeared in the Courier-News today. It is interesting that most of the “Speak Out” comments that are critical of those seeking to remove Humpfer are sure not to mention anything negative about those Trustees who are ignoring — and in some cases, breaking — the law. By this point, we all know that is pretty much the same group of callers and commenters. It’s basically their “campaign” to help out their buddies on the Board.
Speaking of those on the Board who essentially ignore the law, have you noticed a pattern? Yesterday, I wrote about Sigwalt and Co attempting to change the powers of the President, which the Village Attorney already advised was unenforceable. Folks may recall other earlier things that they tried/failed … such as the illegal immigration ordinance, the “English-only” ordinance, censure and even an attempt to infringe on First Amendment rights.
These same Trustees are now also planning to take action against things like happened with the Audit and Finance Commission members. There is a “discussion and direction” item on the agenda for the next Board meeting regarding appointed positions and absences. Readers will recall that resident members on the Commission, and President Sarto, refused to attend the meeting (and one member said, all future meetings) until the Trustees took action on Paul Humpfer.
It’s all just par for the course with these guys. When things aren’t going their way, they want to change the rules to suit themselves, and put down legitimate protests. This time, because the law condemns their friend, they are trying to change things so that no one can do anything to try to enforce it.
How long will it be before their actions target you, and your rights as a citizen in the Village?
Good morning, Carpentersville!
It seems that after little bit of winter returning for the past few days and a chilly start to the morning, spring might be back today, with high temps expected to reach into the 60s, with mostly sunny skies.
Gas prices hit $3.79 per gallon in the area. The Fed is expected to announce another quarter-point rate cut today. And, “economic stimulus” checks began being direct deposited this week.
Last night’s special meeting of the Audit and Finance (A&F) Commission adjourned without conducting business for a lack of quorum as only 3 members were at the meeting.
The Daily Herald had a decent story about it today. The article also discussed a memo sent to Village Manager Anderson by Attorney James Rhodes giving an opinion on the letter Mayor Bill Sarto sent, declaring that Paul Humpfer’s trustee position was vacated according to the law after being found guilty of domestic battery, and moving out of the Village.
Rhodes said that Sarto alone did not have the power to make the determination, but that the entire Board should decide.
Closing his opinion, Rhodes said a board decision is imperative.
“This issue has caused disruption during village board meetings and now may cause additional disruption in village business,” Rhodes said. “While the decision of the board is not conclusive and a quo warranto action might still be prosecuted, a village board determination should eliminate further disruptions and will allow village matters to proceed.”
The Courier-News had two stories that followed along similar lines; one about the lack of quorum at the A&F meeting, and the other about the attorney’s memo.
As readers may recall, on two previous occasions, the Board has failed to make a determination on the status of Paul Humpfer’s seat. Due to lack of a resolution on Mr. Humpfer’s position, the 3 resident members of the Audit and Finance Commission have stated they will not attend any meetings until it is resolved. From the language in their statements, it appears that they believe the Board should declare Humpfer’s seat to be vacant, specifically because of the crimes he was found guilty of.
For his part, Sarto does appear to have the law on his side. This also seems to be the reason why the Board has refused to even discuss the matter.
However, a determination must be made. Paul Humpfer has broken laws that make him ineligible to hold public office. His friends on the Board do not appear to want to face those hard facts.
It is for that reason I don’t believe that the members of the Village Board have the capability of making such a decision, especially in lieu of comments made by them since Humpfer’s was found guilty.
Even though a judge returned a guilty verdict, his friends — including 4 members of the Village Board who have expressed that they wish to keep him on the Board — have maintained that “he didn’t do it”.
That is not up to them to consider and determine. That is not the question they are being asked.
The question they are to answer is whether the crime he was found guilty of — domestic battery — violated “community standards of honesty, decency and moral turpitude”.
In order for Humpfer to retain his seat on the Board (and the Audit and Finance Commission), the majority of the Board must say that “domestic battery” is not a serious crime; that it is within the acceptable standards of honesty and decency in the community. Of course, they don’t want to say that (who would even dare say that’s true?! especially considering the emails that condemn Humpfer’s crimes); which is why they chose to ignore answering such a question; neglecting to do their duty under the law.
If they were to do their duty as the law requires, and declare Humpfer ineligible to serve and that a vacancy exists, they would likely lose the support of the group responsible for getting them elected. They would also likely lose their seats in the next election (because this group has their own agenda and doesn’t really care about what is right or even required by the law, if it isn’t favorable to their agenda).
So, politics is definitely at play here, and it is the worst kind of politics … failing to do what is required and right for the purpose of maintaining an elected position.
Trustees have hinted that they will take action at the meeting on May 6th.
The question is, will it be the right action?
Lots of fun this weekend — beautiful weather outside, but the “internet weather” was not quite so warm.
Missed it? Well then lets get caught up.
On Saturday, we found out that Village President Bill Sarto had to hire, using his own money, a private eye to prove that Paul Humpfer was not in compliance with the residency requirement to hold the position of Trustee. I’m confident that there likely were more than a few members of the Board who knew that he was not in compliance, but never questioned it or took any other action on it. The findings of the investigation are expected today.
The Daily Herald reported that he hadn’t been in compliance with the requirement since the incident that led him to be charged and convicted of domestic battery, committed in May 2007.
If I’m counting correctly, that’s strike 3 (although I could probably get to strike 4 or 5 against Humpfer if I really tried — but that would be overkill, certainly not worthwhile).
- Conviction of “an infamous crime”.
- Failure to meet the residency requirement to hold an elected or appointed position in the Village.
- Violations of the State’s Open Meetings Act and failure to comply with Village rules in securing and utilizing the Village meeting rooms.
Then, on Sunday, two people took … I’ll call them “interesting” … perspectives on this situation in the Speak Out section of the Courier-News …
Here’s the motive: I’d like to comment on this issue on the dismissal of (Paul) Humpfer in Carpentersville. Well, you know, anybody can see that this is strictly about the illegals over there — Humpfer’s stand on the illegal situation.
Well, “as anyone can see” by looking at the above … there are plenty of reasons that show that Paul Humpfer is not fit to hold public office, and none of them relate to illegal immigration. Although, that wouldn’t be bad as an additional reason … since it is his position on illegal immigration that has contributed to additional liabilities and problems in the Village.
Humpfer and Clinton: This is about Carpentersville and Bill Sarto and all his buddies and about Paul Humpfer beating his wife. So what if he beat his wife? I mean, that is a personal thing. If he does a good job for Carpentersville, the people ought to be happy. I mean, Bill Clinton got oral sex running the whole U.S. government, and we didn’t throw him out, so why throw Paul Humpfer out for something like that?
“So what if he beat his wife?” Wow! I don’t even think I have to say anything more about that comment. It’s a crime everywhere in this country, and someone defends it by saying “so what?”
Then there is the “If he does a good job for Carpentersville…” Well, he’s been engaged in deception and dishonesty with the Village Board and Staff for at least a year now. I don’t think you can say he’s “done a good job”, unless referring to his acting in a deceitful, dishonest and criminal manner.
In other news the Mexican Consulate division in Chicago was in Carpentersville from Thursday thru Sunday providing services to Mexican nationals living in the U.S. Were some of these people in the U.S. illegally. Possibly. But, the Mexican Consulate was also providing services to those legally here. In addition to providing IDs and (renewing in some cases) Passports, the mobile consulate offers “an array of services, including parenting classes, diabetes screening and legal consultations”.
Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration and Midwest Minutemen protested the Mexican Consulate’s presence.
And, an illegal immigrant was arrested selling drugs in Carpentersville.
You know … those who are against Illegal Immigration in the US certainly have a point. But they undermine it by some of their xenophobia, and the especially do damage when they take part in excusing illegal behavior in government when it involves furthering their own personal interests and trying to distract people from that criminal behavior … even committing further potential crimes in the process.
Will this ever end, or will the rest of Carpentersville allow this to continue? As I said in a comment today …
There are, unfortunately, too many people — even who are a part of elected or appointed positions — who are unwilling to step up to denounce the behavior of these people.
They are being allowed to break the law, seemingly with impunity. Why does no one else step up and call them out; make them accountable for their crimes? Is it because they are afraid of name-calling or other retribution? That is understandable — it is a reason for my own anonymity. But, unless people speak up, nothing will ever change.
While they have meetings with their group that violate the rules and laws of the State and of the Village, have people from that group come to every meeting to bash those who want to put an end to it, write letters to the paper, post on other blogs and news stories … the “good guys” are losing because no one is willing to stand up for Carpentersville.
Although some want to call them “immature games”, they certainly are not. “Games” are accusations; giving free reign to illegal activity goes well beyond the boundaries of “games”.
Because more good people don’t step forward to speak out about this (I hear at least one member of a committee refused to be involved until Humpfer is removed from his seat, but that person hasn’t made such dissatisfaction public, which is unfortunate), it puts everyone who is a part of this government under suspicion — even if undeserved, as is the majority of the case.
Thomas Jefferson wrote:
“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
And, unfortunately, Carpentersville today seems to be a very glaring example of that.
Here’s a quick look what’s going on around town, and recent news …
Residents may have felt a bit of a shake in their sleep early this morning, as a 5.2 scale earthquake hit in Southern Illinois about 4:30am. The quake was felt by those as far north as Milwaukee. For the record, I was not woken from my sleep. I guess you could say I was one of those who was (wait for it…) shaken, not stirred. (Yes, you are permitted to groan.)
On Tuesday, April 22 at 7pm, there will be a Special Meeting of the Village Board. It will be held at the Public Works building on Lake Marian Rd. The purpose of this meeting will be Discussion and Direction: Site Planning for Public Works Facility, Police Station and Other Facilities on the “Tamarac Property”. The next regular meeting of the Village Board will be on May 6, 2008 at Village Hall.
The Carpentersville Improvement Committee will meet again on Wednesday, April 23. The Parks Committee will have their next meeting on May 12.
The Village has updated the website with important phone numbers now appearing on the main page: Anonymous Tip Lines; Lines Open 24 Hours a Day, Every Day Crimes — 847/551-3488, Code Violations — 847/426-9600. Also, there is now a Pothole Hotline for residents to call to report areas where there is a serious pothole problem: 847/551-3495.
Carpentersville in the News …
The Chicago Tribune has an article today about the continued lack of support for President Bill Sarto’s attempts to have Paul Humpfer’s trustee seat declared vacant. Unfortunately, the article makes it sound like Sarto is trying to something outrageous by acting according to his oath of office to uphold the law. On March 5, 2008, Humpfer was found guilty of an “infamous crime”, which Illinois law states makes a person ineligible to hold an elected or appointed position. Many of those supporting Humpfer say that it is Humpfer’s position on illegal immigration, not his domestic battery conviction, that is the real reason of those seeking his removal. But, many also say his support of a crackdown against illegal immigrants is the reason he should be allowed to remain on the Board, in spite of his conviction and subsequent disqualification under the law.
The Courier-News yesterday provided readers an update on the $30 million lawsuit filed in September against the Village. The lawsuit alleges that Village officials created and maintained an environment of anti-Hispanic bias which led to paramedics not transporting Gloria Lopez’s 4-month-old son to the hospital. As a result, the boy sustained permanent brain damage.
Also in the Courier-News is a letter to the editor anticipating the trial of Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski for saying that tree-climbing kids were acting “like monkeys”. The writer referenced those who sipped a little too much at a tavern his mother owned years ago, saying “even at their drunkest and most ridiculous, they were still far brighter than the current crop of Carpentersvillians, the politico correcto wackos responsible for Linda Ramirez Sliwinski’s getting ticketed”. (Sigh)
Appearing in the Daily Herald today is an article about members of the Mexican consulate in Chicago coming to Carpentersville to provide Mexican ID cards and passports to Mexican citizens living in the U.S. Without a current, valid Mexican passport those living in the United States are not able to travel outside the country. At the site, the regular group of Minutemen members are making their comments.
Also, in the Daily Herald’s “Police Beat” … “A Carpentersville woman was accused of stabbing her husband at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday … she was charged with aggravated battery with a weapon and domestic battery, police said.” If she’d only used a baseball bat instead …
And, finally, looks like Spring may have finally arrived … a little rain, but warmer temps. I’m still not sure that they will thaw the chilliness on the Board, however…
Carpentersville Action Network 
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