Failures of Board will take toll

Readers of this blog know Paul Humpfer’s and Judy Sigwalt’s history of interfering with the ability of the Village to conduct business and accomplish things for the residents. (Be sure to click through those links to see all that these people have been involved in in the past that have created serious issues in this town.)

Now, they are preventing business from being done by refusing to accept that Paul Humpfer’s conviction of domestic battery (not to mention his residency issues) has caused his seat to be vacated. Unfortunately, it is even being insinuated that domestic violence is no big deal by saying that all of this is just “politics”.

[Sorry, folks, but when you are convicted of hitting your wife with a baseball bat, and you have a history of domestic violence, actions to enforce the law no longer qualify as “politics”.]

Members of the Audit and Finance Commission are rightly taking action in not attending until Village government acts in accordance with the law to prevent Paul Humpfer from taking a seat that he vacated by his conviction of “an infamous crime”.

Most government representatives take strong positions against domestic violence … but not 5 members of the Village Board…

There seems to be much amiss here, when the Village government refuses to deal with crimes committed by its members, and let’s an official who has been removed continue to participate in government decision-making.

And, can anyone explain why the Daily Herald, Courier-News, and Chicago Tribune remain virtually silent on the fact that a convicted domestic abuser has kept his seat in government, when doing so appears to be a factor in enabling this situation? (Well, we all know you can’t trust the media anyway, right?)

It is likely time to take this issue higher, in order to get a satisfactory resolution from those at the State, and even Federal, levels. Request help as of members of the Village government (and others) refuse to comply with applicable law, and excuse the serious matter of violence against women.

If you want to see this ended in Carpentersville, I urge you to contact your representatives in other levels of government, seeking their help in removing the offender, to restore faith and trust in our government and deal strongly with those who abuse women.

Ruth Munson, Illinois State Representative
847-622-1048 (District office)
217-782-8020 (Springfield office)

Tim Schmitz, Illinois State Representative
630-845-9590 (District office)
217-782-5457 (Springfield office)

Michael Noland, Illinois State Senator
847-214-8864 (District office)
217-782-7746 (Springfield office)

Chris Lauzen, Illinois State Senator
630-264-2334 (District office)
217-782-0052 (Springfield office)

Bill Foster, U.S. Representative
630-406-1114 (Batavia office)
202-225-2976 (Washington, DC office)

Dick Durbin, U.S. Senator
312-353-4952 (Chicago office)
217-492-4062 (Springfield office)
202-224-2152 (Washington, DC office)

Barack Obama, U.S. Senator
312-886-3506 (Chicago office)
217-492-5089 (Springfiled office)
202-224-2854 (Washington, DC office)

Do not call

About 4 1/2 years ago, people all across the United States were able to add their phone numbers to the Federal Do Not Call List. This prevented telemarketers from calling you at home unless they represented a company with whom you had done business. Exceptions were made for charitable organizations, surveys and political calls. Since it went into effect in 2003, over 145 million numbers have been entered into the registry – 6.5 million in Illinois as of Sept 30.

“So what?”, you may say.

Well, because many readers have probably registered on the do-no-call list, I thought it might be good to let people know some things that are now being considered about it (and what is not). (If you haven’t registered and want to stop telemarketer calls — with the exceptions noted above — you can go t0 the FTC website for the Do-Not-Call list registration information.)

When the list was created in 2003, it was to expire in June 2008. That would mean that consumers would have to re-register their numbers every 5 years to keep numbers out of the hands of telemarketers.

There are some things you should know that are happening with the do-not-call list right now.

First, the FTC was considering purging all numbers from its list in June 2008, causing all who are on the list to have to re-register, regardless of when they previously registered their number. However, information released today states that the FTC will not be dropping any numbers from the list at the 5-year expiration period.

Legislation has been introduced in Congress to make the list permanent. The final decision regarding the Registry is pending this legislation.

Changes have been made since 2003 that cause disconnected and reassigned numbers to be removed from the database on a monthly basis. This allows the Registry to balance accuracy with consumer privacy concerns, making it possible to do away with the 5-year expiration period.

And, finally, there has been a myth circulating for awhile — primarily via email — that telemarketing companies would begin calling cell phones. The do-not-call list does accept cell phone numbers into the registry for those wanting the added security and privacy. However, the FCC has made it illegal to use automated dialers to call cell phones; which is the way most telemarketing companies operate.

You can register online at WWW.DONOTCALL.GOV or call toll-free, 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236), from the number you wish to register. Registration is free.