Hotel cancels Ill. Minuteman Project meeting

August 23, 2007
By Ben Lefebvre STAFF WRITER

CRYSTAL LAKE -- The Crystal Lake Holiday Inn has canceled its rental contract with the Illinois Minuteman Project, citing concerns about security costs for a conference scheduled for Saturday by the anti-illegal-immigrant group.

Minuteman director Rosanna Pulido said she received an e-mailed letter Tuesday from the hotel's legal representatives stating several reasons why it would not honor an agreement with the organization for a conference room rental. Among them was that the Crystal Lake Police Department would charge the hotel as much as $3,500 to provide security at the event, she said.

"That's because a bunch of groups are protesting," Pulido said, referring to several immigrant rights organizations from Kane and McHenry counties that plan to demonstrate outside the hotel.

The illegal immigration debate has drawn large crowds to the area before. Carpentersville and Waukegan have seen crowds of about 3,000 people during the past year protesting measures seen as targeting the immigrant and Hispanic communities.

Crystal Lake Police Chief Dave Linder said the department charges organizers of any event that demands work "above and beyond" normal police duty, including parades and downtown fairs.

"The Holiday Inn booked this event and we were then notified, personally and through the media, that several groups would protest the event," he said. "If any event is going to require police presence to ensure the safety of everyone involved, we're going to charge for that."

Pulido said she was working to find another venue for the estimated 100 people who bought tickets to hear Allen County, Ohio, Sheriff Daniel Beck speak about his department's handling of illegal immigration issues.

"We are looking for any individual in Crystal Lake who has a building, a hall, a garage, cornfield, anything," she said. "We'll take it."

Although the Illinois Minuteman Project may make a change of venue, protesters said nothing's changed with their plans.

"We're still going to be there," said Adam Ruiz, a Carpentersville Community Alliance member who helped organize the counterdemonstration. "We have the permits from the village and we're still going to have a rally for immigration rights and immigration reform. We just want to voice our opinion peacefully and say there's two views on this."

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