Editorial: Village takes step forward with repeal of 'official language' ordinance

If you're Latino and have lived in Carpentersville after 2007, your community spirit may have been in short supply.

After all, it's hard to feel part of a town where the elected leaders passed a resolution designating English as the village's official language. Instead of offering a welcoming embrace, what that said was "You're not one of us."

It took nearly 11 years, but village officials set about to right that wrong last week when they voted unanimously to repeal the measure with the aim to unify a village where more than 50 percent of its 38,000 residents are Latino.

"As far as I'm concerned, it (the resolution) should've never happened," Village President John Skillman said. "We want to bring the town together, and this is a start."

The repeal was necessary and long overdue, and now must be the catalyst for even more change in Carpentersville. It must be used as a springboard to identify meaningful ways to increase inclusion, participation and political representation for all minority residents. Skillman, who was elected to his first term last year, campaigned on a platform of unifying the village and working to strengthen relationships with Latino residents. We'll look to him to continue to lead the charge.

The controversial official-language measure, which was purely symbolic and served no legal purpose, had its roots in a contentious era in village politics when supporters believed the resolution would encourage non-English-speaking residents to learn the language. It followed the racially charged 2007 election when a slate of candidates called the "All-American Team" campaigned on platforms of cracking down on undocumented workers and making English the village's official language.

In a March 15 letter to the village, a national voting rights group called the Campaign Legal Center cited the 2007 election and the subsequent language resolution as examples of Carpentersville's past divisiveness. The organization found the village's minority populations to have low civic involvement and voter turnout attributed to a "feeling of helplessness."

Changing the voting system is one way to better engage the Latino community, the group has said. The nonpartisan, nonprofit CLC called for changes to the village's voting practice of electing its six trustees at-large despite the community's large Latino population, saying the system violates the federal Voting Rights Act and diminishes the opportunity for Latino voters to elect candidates of their choice.

Only one Latino candidate has been elected to the village board in the last 13 years, the group said.

Since the letter, Skillman has appointed a Latina, Maria Vela, to fill a village board vacancy, and village officials are discussing options to boost Latino political engagement.

That's momentum to seize in reshaping Carpentersville into a vibrant, diverse community where all residents feel they are valued.