Carpentersville trustee says he's staying

A clearly divided crowd of more than 115 people packed the Carpentersville village board room Tuesday night with some lending support for embattled Trustee Paul Humpfer, while others demanded the trustee's swift removal from office.

In the first board meeting since Humpfer was found guilty on four counts of domestic battery for hitting his wife with a baseball bat, more than a dozen people addressed the board, half of them applauding Humpfer's decision to stay and half calling for his resignation.

On March 5, a Kane County Judge convicted Humpfer of domestic battery stemming from an incident in May last year in which Humpfer hit his wife in the legs with a baseball bat. Humpfer faces up to a year in county jail. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10.

Humpfer, who said he will appeal the decision, said he plans to stay.

"It is not an easy decision as to handling the situation of being found guilty," Humpfer said. "For the time being, I am staying put on the board."

For more than an hour, residents and visitors alike debated whether Humpfer should stay or resign.

"I am here to support a very good board member, Paul Humpfer," said John Morrison, who has lived in Carpentersville for more than 45 years. "He has done a wonderfully professional job on the board and has served admirably on the village's audit and finance commission."

Humpfer's financial work with the village was also a reason Jay Radke threw his support behind Humpfer.

"He has straightened out the finances of the village," Radke said. "He fought against the buying property that the village doesn't need. He fought for fiscal responsibility of the village."

However others -- many of whom held signs reading "resign now," "convicted," and "guilty" -- called Humpfer an "embarrassment" to the village. Fliers demanding Humpfer's removal and the resignation of Trustee Judy Sigwalt also circulated around the boardroom.

"This trustee should resign because it has been nothing but an embarrassment to the village," said Joe Haimann, a longtime resident. "I think he has shown his true colors. We have heard nothing but lies ... and they have been found out. It is time you resign. Step down, please."

Resident Adam Ruiz questioned Humpfer's moral and ethical standards.

"It is absurd. How can you uphold the Constitution when you're a criminal?" Adam Ruiz said. "How can you represent the community when most people in the community are not wife-beaters? This is an embarrassment."

As of late Tuesday, the board had not acted on a resolution to limit the powers of the village president.