Trustee agrees to mediation with neighbors

In a move to quiet controversy and mend fences, Carpentersville Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski has agreed to a mediation with the black neighbors she offended when she compared their sons to monkeys.

The Rev. Walter Blalark, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition's northwest suburban chapter, said he reached out to meet with the village's first-term, lone Hispanic trustee, to get her version of what took place.

He said he spoke to Ramirez-Sliwinski on Wednesday night and she has agreed to meet with him, the neighbors and their children.

At the trustee's request, her pastor, the Rev. Dexter Ball from Faithwalk Harvest Center in Carpentersville, may also attend, Blalark said.

Ball could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

"My interest is making sure the kids are made whole and making sure the kids understand what she was trying to say -- that she was not saying anything that was trying to damage them," Blalark said.

That has been Ramirez-Sliwinski's claim all along.

Georgia Lockett, whose son was one of the boys climbing the tree in a neighbor's front yard, says her family is also eager to settle the neighbor dispute.

She belongs to Living Gospel Church of God In Christ, where Blalark is pastor.

"We want to resolve the matter," Lockett said.

The incident that their discussion will center around occurred six days ago.

Saturday, the boys aged 8 and 9 years old had been climbing a tree next door to the trustee's house on the east side of town.

Police issued the trustee a $75 citation for disorderly conduct when, according to a police report, she told the children to "quit playing in the tree like monkeys."

Their parents interpreted her comments as racially charged -- in his report, the police officer wrote, "I observed them to be very upset over what she had said."

Ramirez-Sliwinski, who did not return calls Thursday, has said she did not mean anything racial by her remarks, saying she calls her own grandchildren monkeys, and wanted to make sure the kids didn't fall and hurt themselves.

She has vowed to challenge the citation and to keep her position as a pledged delegate for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Parent Dametta Stewart has not confirmed whether she and her family would attend the sit-down, Blalark said. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.