Oak Park leaders considered scrapping an ordinance that a trustee said sits at a bone of contention between two of the village’s progressive values — prioritizing environmental sustainability and being welcoming to immigrants.
Oak Park village trustees questioned the appropriateness of the village’s ban on gas powered leaf blowers in response to the widespread fear that’s taken hold of the local Hispanic community as result of intense federal immigration enforcement seen throughout Chicagoland in recent months. The federal government says it’s arrested more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants in its so-called Operation Midway Blitz, which has also led to chaotic scenes across the region and allegations that federal agents are illegally violating residents’ rights and racially profiling Latino people.
The village board in a meeting Oct. 14 considered suspending the gas-powered leaf blower ban, which only went into full effect over the summer, before settling on a change in enforcement strategy…