CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. (AP) – A Chicago suburb has rescinded a resolution that made English its official language.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Carpentersville’s then-trustees said the 2007 measure was intended to encourage assimilation and discourage illegal immigration. Current village officials say the resolution only caused controversy.
Many Spanish-speakers left the village about 40 miles northwest of Chicago in the wake of the resolution. After that, local and federal authorities cracked down on Latino gang members in the village and gradually Hispanic people began to trickle back.
Today, Hispanic people account for more than half of Carpentersville’s population, up from about 40 percent in 2007.
Rev. Dexter Ball says he hopes the end of the ordinance will bring the community closer together.
Some residents say they were unaware the resolution even existed.
