Leaders should represent all citizens
It is a shame when candidates running to become a public servant forget that it is the public that they are serving. The citizens of Wauconda need trustees to represent ALL of them, and some of those citizens happen to be English language learners, whether they are Hispanic, Polish, Chinese or Indian. We have a diverse community now, and they build businesses here, and spend money, and create jobs, and pay taxes. While they and their children are learning not just the language but how our culture works, the mayor and trustees should be there to serve and represent them all, not just the longtime residents such as Mr. Kwasigroh.
Everyone trumpets how his or her immigrant grandparents had to learn English. Well, many of our grandparents lived in ethnic neighborhoods, and they went to ethnic churches and stores and did not learn English right away, but their children did. In researching my heritage on ancestry.com, I found an old document from my great-grandfather's burial plot at a cemetery in Norwood Park. The document was half English, half GERMAN. The neighborhood knew that while the immigrants were learning the language, they would need information, and businesses were smart enough to know that if you wanted the German residents to purchase their goods, they would need to understand the information. If you were a well-informed citizen in Wauconda, you would know that the United Partnership for a Better Community has already made great strides to help integrate different cultures into our community. Among other things, they formed a cultural diversity committee that helps provide information in multiple languages while immigrants are learning our language. Check them out: unitedpartnership.org. This partnership includes Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, In Touch Program, Lake County Center for Independent Living, Wauconda Area Library, Wauconda Area Chamber of Commerce, Wauconda Community Unit School District 118, Wauconda Park District, Wauconda Police Department, and the Wauconda Township.
Some candidates from the Wauconda United Party have worked with the United Partnership, and seem better informed to embrace the changes to our community and be proactive advocates for every citizen, immigrants included.
Irene Ducharme
Wauconda