2 C'ville trustees vow to advance own law
(http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/cour ... S2.article)

July 27, 2007

By Rebecca O'Halloran STAFF WRITER

CARPENTERSVILLE -- On Thursday afternoon, Trustee Paul Humpfer was on Page 8 of the 206-page court ruling handed down to the town of Hazleton, Pa.

He will read the entire document before he tailors a similar Carpentersville proposal and brings it back to the village board in "a matter of weeks."

"It's not a matter of whether we can pass this type of ordinance and withstand a lawsuit, it is (a matter of) how and when," said Humpfer, who supports the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, a proposed ordinance that would punish businesses and landlords that deal with illegal immigrants. A federal judge in Allentown, Pa., found Hazleton's ordinance unconstitutional.

The Carpentersville Village Board tabled the proposal in October and decided to let the Hazleton law be the guinea pig in the court system before the board votes on a similar local proposal.

The federal judge dismissed other counts in the lawsuit that deal with equal protection, fair housing and privacy rights, which shows promise locally, Humpfer said.

"We'll have to build off those and make sure we have a good law when we move forward," he said.

The ordinance was "foolhardy" at best, said Village President Bill Sarto, who opposes the local proposal.

"This probably says what I've been saying all along, and that this is not a matter for local government to be involved with," he said. "It really is up to the federal government to deal with the immigration issues in this country."

That's just the problem, Trustee Judy Sigwalt said.

"They've proven they can't handle it," said Sigwalt, a proponent of a local illegal immigration ordinance. "I would think that this (ruling) would really upset the American people to where more and more are going to stand up and say, 'You know what, enough is enough, we can't take it anymore.' "

Despite the ruling, which Sigwalt called "a slap in the face to every American citizen," she said she will continue working on the proposal with fellow supporters.

"We're not going away," she said.