Chicago Suburb Divided Over Local Law Proposal

Sophia Tareen, Associated Press, writes in USA Today:

CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. — The promise of a better life drew Carlos Delgado to this small suburban Chicago community along the banks of the Fox River.

Here, housing was affordable, jobs available and thousands of other Mexican immigrants made him feel at home.

Ten years later, the 31-year-old construction worker no longer feels welcome — even though more than 40% of Carpentersville’s 37,000 residents are Hispanic.

The Village Board passed a non-binding resolution in June declaring English the town’s official language, and is considering an ordinance to ban employers from hiring or landlords from renting to illegal immigrants.

“I’m thinking of moving,” said Delgado, a legal U.S. resident applying for citizenship whose Chinese-American wife is a U.S. citizen. “I think it’s stupid to deal with all this stuff.”

The long-simmering tensions over immigration that erupted here, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago, are similar to those playing out nationally as towns struggle to come to terms with rapidly shifting demographics. Click here for the rest of the story.

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