Carpentersville politics mires push for panel

A Carpentersville community group recently declared defunct may be revived.

Village President Bill Sarto said he will resurrect the Beautification and Improvement Committee of Carpentersville and is searching for a new leader.

"I want to rejuvenate it and get it going again," Sarto said. "I think it has potential for doing some very good work, and we have done good things in the village."

Last fall, the group of volunteers landscaped the retaining wall at the southeast corner of Route 31 and Main Street, known as the Ivy Wall Project.

Nancy Moore, the group's founder and former president, stepped down due to pregnancy and had no one willing to fill the leadership role.

Now, however, Moore says she supports someone taking over the reins, but she does not fully back Sarto.

"It is a cause of concern for me. I was thinking of someone who was not politically motivated," Moore said. "I don't want it to be used as a political football and tarnish the good work the whole group has done."

Most recently, Moore and Sarto locked horns over allegations of domestic abuse leveled against Trustee Paul Humpfer.

While Sarto said he learned of the 2005 allegations weeks before the April 2007 election in which Humpfer retained his trustee post, Moore said Sarto knew of the incident in 2005.

Group Vice President Dave Reece said the group's revival is intended to encourage people to become involved in the village, and is not politically motivated.

"There are some pretty ugly spots in the village," Reece said. "We are trying to better the community instead of tearing things down."

The group's six permanent members, who were scheduled to meet Wednesday night, plan to beautify a section of Route 25 from Berkley Street to St. Monica's Church.

Reece said a retaining wall and uniform fencing is proposed along the sidewalk.

The group's project would involve sprucing up the retaining wall with bushes and plants to deter vandals from defacing the property.

"It is an area targeted for gang graffiti," Reece said. "We would block the fence and they won't have a canvas, so to speak."