Debate Ensues As Plainfield Considers Becoming Sister Cities With Moldova Town

PLAINFIELD, IL — A request to look into becoming sister cities with a town in Moldova sparked a debate at the Plainfield Village Board meeting Monday night.

The first item on the agenda for the regular meeting was to consider a resolution to investigate becoming a sister city with Nisporeni, Moldova, situated between Romania and Ukraine in eastern Europe. Nisporeni is located about 45 miles east of Chisinau, the country's capital.

"Plainfield, along with Naperville, has the largest population of Moldovan immigrants in, maybe, the United States," Mayor John Argoudelis said.

Plainfield does not have formal agreements with any sister city, but it did send aid to Slidell, Louisiana, in response to Hurricane Katrina.

"We would see this as an opportunity to build bridges," said Anton Lungu, the first Consul General of the Republic of Moldova in Chicago, which is responsible for the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana. "We could build a lot of interesting ties, meaning schools, business exchanges, tourism, promoting wine and getting people that are from Moldova, especially Nisporeni, to discover more about Plainfield and vice versa," Lungu said.

Before the agenda item was brought to a vote, the request sparked dissent among the Board.

"I think we should be focusing on local issues," Trustee Richard Kiefer said. "I know a lot of communities have some sister cities. I just feel like the political climate that we're in right now, I don't think we should be weighing in and forming ties like this."

Argoudelis said the agreement is about cultural exchange, not about taking political sides.

"I agree with you that we should not be weighing in on international politics, but we would never have to do that," he said. "We can have cultural exchange with this city and leave it at that. No one is forcing us to do anything beyond that."

Trustee Margie Bonuchi shared Kiefer's sentiments, saying, "[Argoudelis has] known these people for a few years, and yet we've never discussed it beyond, all of a sudden, making this resolution. I do have concerns of the 'what if,' not so much that [the Moldova consul general is] here, but who's next."

In response, the mayor reminded the Board that the resolution was to begin looking into what an agreement would look like. A formal sister city binding would come before the Board at a later date.

Trustee Tom Ruane said he mostly sides with Kiefer's arguments, but that he also understands the mayor's viewpoint.

"We like to keep our head out of international issues," Ruane said. "But my ignorance of exactly what is going on here and what this investigation is going to do in Plainfield, maybe it's something positive, so I have no problem looking into it. ... I hope it's something that benefits both of us."

Ultimately, the Board passed the resolution 4-1. Bonuchi voted against it, and Kiefer abstained, saying, "I don't mind if you investigate this, but I don't want to weigh in on this right now." Ruane, Vanessa Sula, Brian Wojowski and Siv Panicker voted in favor, with the latter commenting he is a "yes" "for the time being."