Delegate still plans vote for Obama
The Barack Obama delegate who got in trouble for calling her neighbor’s kids “monkeys,” is once again headed to Denver to cast her vote for Obama.
Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, a Carpentersville village trustee, agreed Monday night to step aside as a delegate after she got a a $75 “disorderly conduct” ticket for the “monkeys” incident and Obama staffers called her, worried the bad press about the incident might hurt the campaign.
(STNG)
But Ramirez-Sliwinski changed her mind Tuesday night, after getting a lot of positive reaction from people who thought the incident was being overblown, said Ramirez-Sliwinski ally, Town President Bill Sarto.
Ramirez-Sliwinski has insisted since police came to her house Saturday that she had no racist intent calling the neighbor children “monkeys.” She was concerned about their safety and was telling them to get out of the tree so they would not fall, Carpentersville Police Cmdr. Michael Kilbourne said. She told police at the time that she calls her own grandchildren monkeys.
But Ramirez-Sliwinski is Mexican-American and the neighbor children, whose parents she has feuded with, are African-American, so the parents called the police, alleging the incident was racial.
The police issued the $75 ticket, similar to a parking ticket, which Ramirez-Sliwinski intends to fight, Sarto said.
“Ms. Ramirez-Slawinski is an elected delegate, and we respect her decision to represent the campaign at the convention,” said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt. “It is clear that the incident was a misunderstanding.”
Ramirez-Sliwinski has not returned repeated telephone calls seeking comment on the incident. She sports an Obama sign in her front yard.
As the only Hispanic on the village board of trustees, Ramirez-Sliwinski has been a strong voice for the interests of Carpentersville’s 40 percent Hispanic population. She and Sarto were the strongest voices against an English-only proposition and an ordinance to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Opposition leader Judy Sigwalt said earlier this week, “We are elected officials. We are in a position where people look to us for leadership and professionalism. We have to be diplomatic at all times,” but the decision of whether to leave the board is up to Ramirez-Sliwiniski.
“Frankly, I don’t see a law that was broken here,” Sarto said. “I think this entire thing has been blown out of proportion. She’s a good neighbor. She went over to caution the children to be careful not to fall out of a tree. She has never indicated to me any prejudice whatsoever. We have a trustee who has been convicted on four counts of domestic battery and refuses to resign from the board. He beat his wife with a baseball bat. This seems far less egregious to me.”