Elgin council needs overhaul
In a few short months Elgin will have four seats on the city council up for election. Our current city council has taken a very soft stance on illegal immigrants. This has reached the critical stage. The huge cost to Elgin homeowners is showing. Over the years thousands of uneducated, low-income illegals have settled here. Elgin is thought of by many as a sanctuary city.
As Elgin's population has changed so have Elgin's older neighborhoods. Many are being destroyed by overcrowding. Single family homes are being occupied with three and four low-income families. Streets in these neighborhoods are almost impassable because of the cars associated with this overcrowding. It's destroying home values and quality of life for our citizens. It puts an unfair burden on our taxpayers. Crime, gangs, identity theft, drugs, uninsured motorists are now an everyday occurrence. Elgin's large low-income population is a major reason Elgin is not attracting strong retailers. Just look to Randall Road and then compare us with other neighboring cities.
Elgin's student enrollment for 2007/08 totals 16,342. Over half - or 9,583 students - are listed as low income. The school district lists the following: Hispanic 9,115, whites 4,560, blacks 1,554 and multiracial 1,413. In less than 10 years minorities are now the majority. The cost to educate a student in 2006 was $9,488. There are 4,744 limited English speaking students that cost over $45 million a year to educate. Amazingly, between 70 and 88.8 percent of the students enrolled in Washington, Channing, Garfield, Harriet Gifford, Highland, Hillcrest, Huff, Lowrie, Lords Park, McKinley and Ellis, are reported as low income. For information on our school enrollment listed school by school go to www.legalamericans.net. The last seven years U-46's low income enrollment has grown 36 percent.
Elgin just can't afford to continue on this course. Listen to the candidates that will be running for these council seats. Get involved. We need new leaders that will stand up for citizens and see that the laws are enforced.
David White
Elgin