Carpentersville official speaks up about lawsuit

• Village being sued for $30M: Woman says paramedics refused care for her child

October 9, 2007
BY BEN LEFEBVRE Staff Writer
CARPENTERSVILLE -- Village Fire Chief John Schuldt broke the government's silence about the $30 million lawsuit facing it, defending two fire department paramedics accused of refusing to take a 4-month-old boy to the hospital last year because he is Hispanic.

"I stand behind my paramedics and know that they acted in the utmost professional manner and that the citizens of Carpentersville can continue to be proud of the men and women that serve them each day," Schuldt said in a prepared statement issued last weekend. "The village will vigorously defend this matter and is confident that the evidence will show there is no merit to this lawsuit."

The release was Carpentersville's first official response to the lawsuit and could be its last for some time. Schuldt and village staff declined further comment, saying, "It would be inappropriate to try this case in the media."

In the lawsuit, Gloria Lopez, 28, a former Carpentersville resident now living in Elgin, alleges the village government's often racially charged debate over illegal immigration created an atmosphere of discrimination against Hispanics that led two paramedics to refuse to take her son Osbiel to the hospital last year.

A second pair of paramedics took her son to Sherman Hospital hours after the first call, according to Lopez's complaint. She alleges that the delay contributed to his suffering permanent brain damage, and she is seeking $30 million in damages from the village. Carpentersville has a $47 million budget for this fiscal year.

Carpentersville's debate over illegal immigration has brought it into the national spotlight. In September 2006, village trustees were discussing the difficulty in collecting ambulance fees from some residents in the village. At the same time, they talked of adopting the Illegal Alien Immigration Relief Act sponsored by Trustees Paul Humpfer and Judith Sigwalt. The proposal, now tabled, would have fined landlords and businesses that aid or abet illegal immigrants. It also would have designated English the official village language, a measure the board passed as a non-binding resolution in June.

The village is using lawyers supplied by the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency, an organization that insures civic governments, Village President Bill Sarto said. The paramedics named in the lawsuit still work for the fire department.



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