-
Jun 20, 2007 7:31 pm US/Central
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Carpentersville Passes English-Only Resolution
Resolution Is Non-Binding
CBS 2's Katie McCall and the Northwest Herald's Kathy Gresey contributed to this report.
CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. (CBS) ―
Village Board members voted, 5-2, on Tuesday night in favor of making English the official language of Carpentersville.
Alhough officials had discussed an English-language ordinance for months, they instead opted to pass a declaratory language resolution.
The English-only resolution is a symbolic gesture, not a law. But as CBS 2 North Suburban Bureau Chief Katie McCall reports, opponents are concerned it's another step forward for an anti-immigrant movement in the community. Forty percent of Carpentersville residents are Latino.
Trustees who voted in favor of the resolution were Kay Teeter, Ed Ritter, Judy Sigwalt, Paul Humpfer and Keith Hinz. Village President Bill Sarto and Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski voted against the measure.
The resolution legally will not require Carpentersville to provide all of its materials in English; however, it does communicate the fact that the village would like its residents to know English.
Village Attorney James Rhodes said the resolution was similar to Illinois' language measure.
"It's simply a declaration that states English is the official language," he said.
During what often was a verbally disrupted board meeting, dozens of community members spoke for and against what was, at first, a proposed language ordinance.
Carpentersville resident Adam Ruiz said the issue was riddled with racist claims by some ordinance supporters.
"They have made this about race, even though they publicly say it is not about race," he said. "We all need to unite and take back our village from hatred and racism."
"It sends a message that people who don't speak English are probably not welcome," Ruiz said.
"Saying it's English only is saying they don't really care about almost half of the residents," said resident Elva Corrall.
But many of those who were for a language measure stated that they simply wanted to uphold U.S. law.
Frank Stoneham, of Carpentersville, said he physically was pushed around by anti-ordinance supporter during a recent meeting.
"That's the only argument they got is racism," he said. "I'm the one who's being harassed here."
"I'm fighting for the rights of my countrymen," said village trustee Judy Sigwalt.
The resolution was originally part of an ordinance Sigwalt drafted, called the Illegal Immigrant Relief Act, which would make it illegal to rent homes to, or do business with, undocumented immigrants.
"They're in their own little communities and that is not a unified community," Sigwalt said.
Sigwalt's supporters say they're behind her 100 percent.
"You gotta do things the right way," said resident Tracy Fukala. "We don't have to conform to their language; they have to conform to ours."
Before voting on the language resolution, board members discussed whether a language ordinance would put more stress on village staff members, who routinely provide information to residents in Spanish.
Sigwalt, who was a supporter of the ordinance, said she thought a resolution would be better for the village.
"I don't want to make any more difficulties on our staff," she said.
Sarto said he was against any type of language measure because an ordinance or resolution would not help the village.
"I think it would be a detriment to the community," he said. "This will not make one person learn the language any faster. It's not going to make any difference. I still believe it's important for a community to be united."
"It basically insults everyone who comes here who cannot speak the English language," Sarto added.
All over Carpentersville there is business being conducted in Spanish, and opponents of the resolution say the village is making a huge mistake by alienating people who make and spend their money here.
"Even the business owners have said they are losing business [from the Hispanic community] because of this," said village trustee Ramirez-Sliwinski.
Tuesday night, the Village Board also had the opportunity to discuss Carpentersville's Illegal Alien Immigration Relief Act ordinance, which has been tabled since November.
Agendas had been void of the controversial ordinance until Sarto requested that it be reviewed during a board meeting on June 5.
Since its resurrection, the ordinance has yet to be discussed by board. The board is waiting to see the outcome of multiple civil rights lawsuits filed against cities that have passed similar measures.
(CBS 2 and the Northwest Herald are news partners covering stories in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. If you know of stories happening in this region, cont)