Thread: Woodstock Illinois gettin "Sister City" in Mexico

Hey guys!!

You need to see this link to an article from a newspaper from an adjoining county of ours. This is rediculous!!

In this article is the following statement from an officer in the Sherriff's Department. It makes me sick to my stomach!!

“If you have immigrants coming here from Mexico that treat a stop sign like a yield sign, you need to know that,” he said. “... When we take enforcement action, we can use knowledge and compassion. Throwing a $75 ticket at someone who had been taught to do something another way doesn’t make sense.”

I'm sorry but in my opinion, NOT giving a ticket to somebody who runs a stop sign doesn't make any sense!!!

Here in Waukegan, we had 2 of our police cars damaged and one officer hurt from people with no lisense, no insurance, and they both had run stop signs!! Where's the "compassion" for these officers that put their lives on the line for us everyday?? Where's the "compassion" for the taxpayers that are paying for repaired/replaced police vehicles???

Please check this out. I still don't believe it.....

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/0 ... 749515.txt

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/0 ... 749515.txt

Woodstock likely to gain sister city in Mexico


By JENN WIANT - jwiant@nwherald.com
Comments (25)

WOODSTOCK – In Mexico, when a stop sign says “Stop,” it actually means yield, said Maggie Rivera, a former resident of Mexico who now lives in Woodstock. Cars that are worth less than about $2,000 are not required to have insurance, she said, and car seats for children are optional.

Learning about differences in law and culturethrough trips to Mexico over the past four years has helped McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren and his officers better understand the culture and laws of a country where many Woodstock residents grew up, Nygren said.

“If you have immigrants coming here from Mexico that treat a stop sign like a yield sign, you need to know that,” he said. “... When we take enforcement action, we can use knowledge and compassion. Throwing a $75 ticket at someone who had been taught to do something another way doesn’t make sense.”

What started as a police exchange program between officers from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and officers in Guadalupe, in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, has expanded to an informal sister city partnership between Woodstock and Guadalupe.

Now, the Woodstock City Council is moving toward formalizing that partnership through Sister Cities International, Woodstock Human Resources Director Janelle Crowley said.

Rivera, who helped start the police exchange program with her husband, Jose, said she believed that a sister city relationship would benefit Woodstock’s Latino residents.

“Our Latino community is probably the largest in our county, and most of them come from [the Zacatecas] area,” Rivera said. “It would give them a little more ownership and enthusiasm and make them feel integrated into the community.”

Woodstock Mayor Brian Sager emphasized that becoming a sister city to Guadalupe would provide opportunities for educational and cultural exchanges similar to the police program, and also facilitate economic opportunities.

Sager said the City Council likely would approve the sister city program sometime this month, which would cost the city $5,000 the first year. The city will work with the Woodstock Cultural Diversity Commission to sustain the program over time, he added.

Sager said he planned to make another trip to Guadalupe in June with Undersheriff Gene Lowery; Woodstock Fire Chief and Councilman Ralph Webster; state Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake; state Sen. Pamela Althoff, R-Crystal Lake; and Centegra Health System CEO Michael Eesley.

Sager said Mexicana Airlines would pay for the plane tickets, McHenry County businesses would help cover other trip costs, and businesses and families in Guadalupe would host the Woodstock officials. No taxpayer money would be used, he said.

Nygren, who has been on three such trips to Guadalupe, described Woodstock’s future sister city.

“They are very much a colonial, old Mexico interior community. They are not a tourist town,” he said. “This is definitely the way most Mexicans live.”

Woodstock’s future sister city

Guadalupe, in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico

Location: North-central Mexico

Climate: Warm and dry, with about 20 inches of rain annually

Industries: agriculture (cereals, alfalfa, sugarcane), cattle, meat processing, manufacturing (mineral products, sugar refining, alcoholic beverages), wool and cotton textiles

Interesting fact: Zacatecas Governor Amalia Garcia Medina is the only female governor of a Mexican state.

Sources: www.weather.com, www.zacatecas.gob.mx, www.britannica.com

So how many goodwill embassidors do you expect to arrive from Guadalupe, unanounced of course.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

So how many goodwill embassidors do you expect to arrive from Guadalupe, unanounced of course.

Dixie

Dixie

you crack me up :P :P :P

I'm rolling my eyeballs so hard they HURT.



Illinois is doomed...

The citizens of the cities and towns surrounding Woodstock should also pipe up on this. These people won't stay contained in Woodstock. They'll be driving in and trying to spread this influence onto their towns as well.

Better tip off B of A and Miller beer so they can set up a warm welcome.

They don't have to insure a vehicle worth under 2 thousand dollars? Who pays for the damages when the 2 thousand dollar vehicle plows into the 30 thousand dollar one? Sounds like slowly but surely America will either change all our laws to suit Mexicos people or do as they're doing now, have one set of laws for Mexicans and one set for the rest of us.

It's optional to restrain children in car seats? What happened to family values? I don't insist the children in my family use car seats or safety belts because it's the law, I insist for their protection. Even if America decides to make it legal not to restrain our children while in a vehicle, I'll still demand my family continue to protect our children, they'll either buckle up or the key will not go in the ignition.

Sager said the City Council likely would approve the sister city program sometime this month, which would cost the city $5,000 the first year. The city will work with the Woodstock Cultural Diversity Commission to sustain the program over time, he added.

What in the freak is going on? Money can't be too tight if they are willing to invest in crap like this.

Learning about differences in law and culturethrough trips to Mexico over the past four years has helped McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren and his officers better understand the culture and laws of a country where many Woodstock residents grew up, Nygren said.

Sorry, but that Sheriff needs to go! We have laws in America that need to be enforced, and not compared to other nations.
Mexico is a whole other nation with an entirely different culture, with laws designed for their nation, NOT OURS.
FIRE SHERIFF NYGREN!