Trustee never intended to step down as delegate
Carpentersville Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, who Saturday likened her black neighbors' children to monkeys, did not quit her post as a Barack Obama pledged delegate after all, she said Wednesday.
"It was never my intent to step down," Ramirez-Sliwinski said. "It was a misunderstanding with one of Obama's staff."
Ramirez-Sliwinski was elected an Obama delegate in the February primary.
Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, on Tuesday said the trustee had decided to relinquish her delegate post because of the flap with her neighbors.
But that declaration was reversed when the trustee had a change of heart late Tuesday evening after multiple discussions with campaign officers, LaBolt said Wednesday.
"Ramirez-Sliwinski is an elected delegate, and we respect her decision to represent the campaign at the convention," LaBolt said. "It is clear that the incident was a misunderstanding."
However, Ramirez-Sliwinski said Wednesday she never indicated she would step down and that there was miscommunication.
"It was just a misunderstanding," Ramirez-Sliwinski said, "just like it was with my neighbors."
On Saturday, police issued the first-term trustee a $75 citation for disorderly conduct after she told her neighbors' 8- and 9-year-old tree-climbing sons to "quit playing in the tree like monkeys," according to the police report.
The tree was in one of the neighbors' front yards.
The children's parents say the trustee, who they've had issues with over the years, meant the remark as a racial slur.
Ramirez-Sliwinski has said she wasn't trying to offend anyone and was concerned about the children's safety. She said she calls her own grandchildren monkeys.
On Sunday, she also singled out the freshly installed Obama campaign sign in her yard as evidence she supports blacks.
After initially saying she wouldn't contest the $75 citation, she's changed her mind about that as well.
Carpentersville Mayor Bill Sarto backs the trustee's move to stay on as an Obama delegate and says that during their discussions, she never said she'd give up the post.
"It seemed to me she was pretty confident in holding onto the position and she didn't see any reason that she should not be a delegate, and frankly, I agree with her," said Sarto, who is also Ramirez-Sliwinski's political ally.
Georgia Lockett, whose child was one of those in the tree, has vowed to involve the Rainbow PUSH Coalition if Ramirez-Sliwinski challenges the ticket.
Lockett, who initially called police to the scene, had no comment Wednesday about the Obama campaign's stance on the incident.
The Rev. Walter Blalark, president of the Northwest suburban chapter of Rainbow PUSH, accused the campaign of sweeping the racial issue "under the rug."
"It's almost like Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man.' Here we are again becoming invisible because our issues are not important," said Blalark, who is also pastor of Elgin's Living Gospel Church of God in Christ.
Obama campaign officer LaBolt declined to address that claim.
"I've already given you my comment for the story," he said.
Dametta Stewart, whose children were also targets of the trustee's remark, could not be reached for comment.