Censure Sarto for his crude comments

Rarely will an elected official stoop to calling his constituents names. But Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto is the exception to the rule.

In an e-mail he sent me last month, Sarto used the words "weirdo," "nutty," "bunch of misfits" and "band of nut jobs." And he signed it with his name and official title.

This is outrageous. Do such crude and slanderous accusations sound like they're coming from a sensible man who was elected to represent our village government?

When I brought the matter before the village board on Oct. 2, he gaveled me and told me to sit down. His reason? Because I had raised a complaint previously, I had no right to discuss it. One more example of his ongoing repression of all dissent.

Sarto claims it's "free speech." But he denies mine when I protest it. Evidently, I'm not alone. Others have raised the matter of Sarto sending them similar attack letters. The village board has even openly discussed censuring Sarto for this, but they dropped the ball since.

According to Ancel & Glink, a leading local government law firm in Illinois: "There is no mechanism in the Illinois Municipal Code for either a home-rule or non-home rule community to 'impeach' an elected member of the Board." However, "the public body could 'censure' the offending member through an appropriate resolution. ... Illinois Law (65 ILCS 5/3.1-40-15) also permits a municipality to punish its members for disorderly conduct."

This law permits a city council or village board to adopt its own rules of proceeding on the matter. Enough is enough. It's time our village board finally settles the matter of Sarto's disorderly conduct as president. He should be censured for attacking so many of our residents and bullying them when they dare question it.

Bob Sperlazzo, chairman Fox Valley Citizens

for Legal Immigration

Carpentersville