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Immigration fight not over in C'ville
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January 28, 2007

By JEANNE HOVANEC STAFF WRITER

CARPENTERSVILLE -- Village board meetings no longer may be packed with residents, however all one has to do is look at the people wearing red and blue "Illegal means illegal" buttons to know the immigration issue may be tabled, but it's not dead.

All eyes were directed on Carpentersville four months ago as two trustees co-sponsored an ordinance that would establish English as the village's official language and would allow for fines of landlords and business owners who aid and abet illegal aliens.

The Illegal Alien Immigration Relief Act brought more than 1,500 people to village hall at the Oct. 3 board meeting, but a decision concerning the ordinance was narrowly tabled later that month. The board majority thought it would be better to wait to see how other communities, like Hazleton Pa., with similar ordinances were fairing due to court challenges.

As it waits, Village Trustee Paul Humpfer said the village has committed to measures to address the illegal immigration issue without passing the ordinance. In December, the board approved one that would request federal funding to train local law enforcement officers to perform the duties of federal immigration agents. And early this year the board approved amending codes related to rentals of residential properties within the village.

Some Elgin residents since have followed in Carpentersville's footsteps and are circulating a petition seeking an advisory referendum on the April 17 ballot asking voters if the city should apply for a program that allows police officers to act as federal immigration agents.

"I think it is a Carpentersville issue right now, and once it is settled here, then other communities can take the momentum and move accordingly in their community, which is what Elgin is doing," Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration President Bob Sperlazzo said. "We are right there on the cutting edge. There are so many issues we are seeing in crime, and why would you wait for somebody else to take care of it?"


54 cities consider, act

According to the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, as of Dec. 6, there were about 54 cities in the U.S. that have voted on or are considering an immigration ordinance. Carpentersville is the only village in Illinois.
Although Humpfer said it brings a smile to his face that other villages may look to Carpentersville for guidance, he said he felt uncomfortable with the attention and he continues to look at Hazleton.

"There is some good and bad I suppose that people are looking at us as leaders," he said. "I know we are looking at Hazleton, so if they are looking at us, we are looking at Hazleton. It is for their own town and residents to decide and to voice their opinions on ways to address problems of illegal aliens."

Where Carpentersville may be hesitant for the attention, Mayor Louis Barletta of Hazleton considers it a necessary evil. Barletta is encouraging other cities to adopt ordinances similar to the one in his town, saying, "Our ordinance will pass judicial scrutiny."

"We never expected the ordinance to bring the city into the forefront on the illegal immigration debate in the country, however, I felt I had no other choice but to try something to stop what was happening because of illegal immigration," Barletta said.

He refuted the rumor that the city had become a ghost town since the ordinance was considered and said the streets have been quieter and crime has gone down. The city faces a March 12 trial in federal court in Scranton, Pa.


April vote may prove pivotal

On the other hand, Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto said he has not seen many positives come from the emergence of the ordinance in the village. Sarto said there has been some "fallout in the business community" because of it.
"It makes it more difficult to attract new businesses to come to town," Sarto said. "I can't specifically say this (the ordinance) is the reason, but common sense indicates that given a choice between any other community, I think they would go where there is no controversy."

Northern Illinois University law professor Guadalupe Luna agreed the ordinance would serve only to put business owners and residents in finger-pointing situations.

"How do people get reported? It's documented that commonly neighbors report on neighbors. People rat on people," Luna said. "That's not the way you want a community to be. It's happening now. People are mad about the ordinance -- pro or anti."

Sarto does contend the immigration issue has "simmered" and businesses are coming into the village. But he said he thinks the April elections will be watched closely because of the hot topic.

"I think a lot is dependant on the upcoming elections in April," Sarto said. "The two trustees who started the ordinance are up for election, and I think there are a lot of people watching for that obvious reason. The result of that election will go a long way in shaping the future of this village."

Humpfer said if he knows he has the votes to bring the ordinance back on the table after the election, he will do so regardless of where Hazleton is in its court proceedings.

"That doesn't mean we have to pass the ordinance, but we could get it ready for when the courts do decide on Hazleton," Humpfer said. "We would be at a better position to look at what the courts liked and did not like and best apply that to Carpentersville."