Carpentersville president's actions under scrutiny

Carpentersville trustees say they do not support the village president's latest attempts to remove a member of the village board.

A majority of trustees say village President Bill Sarto overstepped his bounds by autonomously sending requests to both the Kane County state's attorney and the Illinois attorney general seeking Trustee Paul Humpfer's removal from office.

One trustee supported Sarto's proceedings.

Trustees said the board has never discussed Humpfer's position, nor has Sarto shared his intentions to contact either office.

"It bothers me when somebody proceeds to do something when it hasn't gotten a consensus or doesn't have the approval of the board," Trustee Keith Hinz said.

But Sarto said Humpfer's conviction last week on four counts of misdemeanor domestic battery warrants his immediate ejection.

On Wednesday, Sarto sent a letter to both Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti requesting they take action to remove Humpfer.

The letters sought "quo warranto" action, a legal term describing an effort to establish the legitimacy of an officeholder's claim to his seat.

It is commonly used to remove publicly elected officials who have committed crimes but who refuse to relinquish their offices.

"It is my opinion that the severity of these convictions necessitates a judicial determination that Paul Humpfer has been convicted of an infamous crime and that the conviction would require a forfeiture of his office," Sarto said in the letters.

State law requires the ouster of elected officials convicted of a felony -- or "an infamous crime."

Those found guilty of a misdemeanor can retain their seats.

Humpfer again said Wednesday he intends to maintain his seat.

Board members contend Sarto's request did not represent the desires of the village board.

"He is like a rabid hamster. He has got his teeth in something and won't let go," Trustee Judy Sigwalt said. "It is indicative of Sarto. He does what he wants. He goes behind the board and we are left out in the cold."

Trustee Ed Ritter echoed Sigwalt's sentiment.

"It is a case of Bill trying to take all of the authority to himself," Ritter said. "He has not consulted any of the trustees. He should be working with us rather than around us."

Trustees Kay Teeter and Keith Hinz also asserted that the board had never discussed the situation in open session, nor had Sarto shared his intent to seek legal action.

"Bill has been acting on his own for a long time," Teeter said. "He never asks us for counsel as far as our opinion. He is strictly acting on his own, going behind us."

Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski was the only trustee to back Sarto's action.

"That's a real shame that he doesn't represent the board because that means the board doesn't represent the community," said Ramirez-Sliwinski, who said the board had received dozens of e-mails from residents and outsiders alike demanding Humpfer's removal.

"If we don't do something to remove him from the board, what message is that sending?" Ramirez-Sliwinski said. "That public officials can get away with anything, that they can do anything to anyone?"