Illegal immigration hot issue at Elgin mayoral forum
- Article
- Comments (0)
- Photos (2)
Though marked by a far from impartial agenda, the Association For Legal Americans’ Wednesday evening candidate forum pushed mayoral candidates David Kaptain and incumbent Ed Schock to address a range of issues affecting Elgin.
The candidates disagreed most passionately on the theme of westward expansion, but Doug Heaton, vice president of AFLA in Elgin and the evening’s moderator, returned again and again to the theme of illegal immigration.
Heaton pressured the city to do more to address problems AFLA connects to undocumented immigrants. Shock and Kaptain had differing responses to this call to action Wednesday.
Schock took a more forceful stance opposing further intervention by the city, saying Elgin is doing as much as it can while emphasizing the federal government’s jurisdiction over enforcing immigration laws.
“I think we have given this issue more attention than any other community,” Schock said. “But we have stayed within the law. I am unwilling to commit illegal acts in the name of legality. That is wrong.”
Schock said partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have put Elgin ahead of its peers in addressing the presence of undocumented immigrants.
But Kaptain argued more could be done.
In speaking about the success of sustainability initiatives and what Heaton characterized as a lack of attention to immigration initiatives, Kaptain said it was a task force for sustainability that made the difference. A task force was not created for immigration.
“When the issue came to the council, the council put together a plan and we left it up to staff to follow through,” Kaptain said.
Kaptain spoke of the merits of a committee composed of members of the Latino community, AFLA and the City Council to have an open discussion about the issues.
Over the course of the 90-minute forum, Heaton posed questions about city programs and spending decisions that Kaptain and Schock largely agreed on. But the topic of westward expansion and the ultimate debt burden clearly positioned the two candidates on opposing sides.
To a question asking why longtime residents are paying for the cost of water and sewer built for westward expansion that has yet to materialize, Schock vehemently opposed the claim.
“Every street, every sidewalk, every curb, every gutter, every tree … every streetlight was paid for by the developers,” Schock said.
He added that the city has considered selling bonds to fund a water line but a special tax for people using it will pay for it in the end.
Kaptain disagreed.
“We just underwent a water and sewer rate increase,” Kaptain said. “The reason for the increase is to pay off the debt service for our far west expansion.”
Schock tried to oppose this claim but Kaptain held firm.
AFLA members wrapped up the evening with the results of a straw poll that showed Kaptain receiving support from more than 60 percent of attendees.
