3,000 at Village Board Meeting

In what has to be a record attendance at a Fox River Valley and, perhaps, an Illinois village board meeting, the Chicago Tribune is reporting 3,000 people showed up at the Carpentersville village board hall Tuesday night.

All of this was started by Carpentersville Trustees Paul Humpfer and Judy Sigwalt.

According to the Chicago Tribune reporter George Houde, their proposal

would deny a business permit to any employer found to have knowingly hired undocumented workers and would fine landlords $1,000 if they rented apartments to illegal immigrants.

It also would make English the official language for village documents, forms and signs.

A friend of McHenry County Blog observes,

Both of these trustees are up for election on April 17th.

Both lost elections on March 21st for Republican Precinct Committeeman. (Sigwalt challenged Dundee Republican Chairman John Noverini; Humpfer lost for an open committeeman's post.)

Humpfer lost the election for village president last year to Bill Sarto.

Basically, I'm wondering if these two officials are so "gung-ho" on fighting illegal aliens, why are they now, just over 6 months in front of the next election, doing this now?

Did they address these in their most previous campaigns? Are they genuinely "Johnny-come-lately?” And of course, is this a coincidence?

Humpfer has been twice appointed (but never elected) to the Carpentersville village board.

In April 2005, right after Humpfer lost the village president's race, Trustee Bob Whitehouse (who was also the principal at Dundee-Crown High School in D300) suddenly announced his resignation.

Humpfer resigned his trustee seat with his term about to expire, and--what a coincidence--was appointed by his village board allies to serve out Whitehouse's term through April 2007.

Are these local officials posturing for the April election (or another future election) by talking tough on illegal aliens crackdown?

Are they able to accomplish anything more than making headlines?

Carpentersville, by the way, is in House Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional district.

Share your comments here or at McHenry County Blog, where you can read about a homeless veterans stand down (and find out what a "stand down" is.)