DeKalb County residents hesitant to discuss impeachment

The House of Representatives made history Wednesday in Washington, D.C., when lawmakers voted to impeach a sitting U.S. president for only the third time. It’s also a moment many in DeKalb County seem reluctant to talk about.

Trekking around DeKalb County on Wednesday painted a picture of people unwilling to attach their names to the conversation, regardless of opinion.

“That’s too much hate for me, I’m staying out of all that,” said a man Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Kishwaukee Family YMCA.

A historic decision happened in the nation’s capital Wednesday, as lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump on grounds of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The house took up the vote about 6 p.m. Wednesday. It’s the third time in the nation’s history that the chief executive was impeached by the House. A trial in the Senate still needs to take place to determine if he would be removed from office.

When encouraged to share their thoughts on impeachment in general instead of “taking a side,” many local residents declined to comment. A few volunteered their thoughts, however.

Mark Cerny, 68, of DeKalb, said he “couldn’t wait” for Trump to get out of office, and lamented the status of the government today.

“It’s sad that our government is so politically charged with Republicans versus Democrats,” Cerny said in the YMCA parking lot. “If they would unite on a few more things, we would get more done.”

In downtown DeKalb, Wendy Randall walked in front of Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant with her husband. They live at the Cornerstone DeKalb apartment complex, and said they’ve been chatting about the impeachment proceedings at home.

“It’s just sad,” Randall said, adding that she doesn’t think Trump will get ousted. “We were talking about this last night. Used to be, we could be bipartisan. We’re not anymore. When you go in to vote, it used to be you could pick. There’s been some Republicans we like, some Democrats. But now they’re forcing us to stay along the party lines, and I don’t think that’s fair. I think they’re pushing us to be partisan.”

Corbin Rudnick, a first-year law student at Northern Illinois University, sat inside the front window at Common Grounds coffee shop in DeKalb studying for a final. He’s been reading up on constitutional law and said he believes impeachment is a tool when the nation’s leader no longer has accountability.

“As a matter of principle, when a president does commit high crimes, I think Congress by principle should pursue with it [impeachment],” Rudnick said. “I think there are some things that Trump could be impeached for.”

In Sycamore, a group of three headed into Courthouse Bar and Grille shortly after noon Wednesday, and said they didn’t have time to talk but were all three against impeaching the president.

It wasn’t clear whether Wednesday’s bitter cold was a deterrent for people to stand outside and talk politics, or whether the topic itself was off-putting. Many rejected offers to comment, although some were forthcoming about their opposition to impeachment.

Down the street, a man was headed to lunch across the street from the DeKalb County courthouse. He called the impeachment proceedings “a complete waste of time,” and said “they’ve been trying for three years.” When asked for his name, the man said, “I’d rather you didn’t.”

A Sycamore business owner who was walking outside Shawn’s Coffee also declined to give her name. She said she didn’t want her opinions affecting her customer base, but said she was around when Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were impeached, and was a registered Republican until the 2016 general election.

Another woman with an armful of holiday gifts declined comment because she said she wasn’t keeping up with the story.

People acknowledged the impeachment proceedings were a reality, but seemed to prefer going about their regular Wednesday schedules.

Elizabeth Pertle, 34, of DeKalb, stood outside the Sycamore post office and said in a way, impeachment makes her a little hopeful.

“Maybe better people will be there,” Pertle said. “If [Trump] didn’t treat people the way he did, maybe things wouldn’t be happening the way that they are.”