Newsletter: A Busy First Week at Home

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With the start of a new week, I return to Washington today and hopefully the weather returns to normal. While I am anxious to get back to work on the important issues facing our nation, I enjoyed a busy and productive week at home in Illinois.

I kicked off 2018 with a Commuter Town Hall, boarding the Metra train in Winthrop Harbor. This was a wonderful opportunity to chat with people about their priorities for the new year. I also attended our regularly scheduled Neighborhood Office Hours in Highland Park, Waukegan, and Northbrook which gave me the opportunity to greet people and have several individual meetings with constituents close to where they work and live. I also enjoyed visiting the Zion Benton Coalition for Healthy Communities at their monthly meeting. We finished the week yesterday hosting a Health Care Fair in Round Lake, providing free flu shots, health assessments, and even karaoke.

Looking forward, much remains on Congress's agenda for the New Year (including many problems that Congress failed to address in December). I'll be focusing on achieving a long-term extension for the Children's Health Insurance Program and Community Health Centers, finally passing the DREAM Act, ensuring continued funding for the government.

Please continue to share your thoughts on these issues and more by sending an email, calling our office at (202) 225-4835, or joining me in Lake Forest this Saturday for our next Congress on Your Corner event.

CONGRESS ON YOUR CORNER IN LAKE FOREST

Our first Congress on Your Corner of 2018 will be in Lake Forest this Saturday. I'm looking forward to answering your questions and updating you on my work in Congress. I hope you'll join me and share your thoughts on what Congress should focus on in 2018.

Congress on Your Corner in Lake Forest
Saturday, January 13, 2018, 10:00am – 11:00am
Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital (the new building)
Hughes Conference Center, Pavilion A, 2nd Floor
1000 N. Westmoreland Rd, Lake Forest, IL 60045

*Please park in Lot 1 and use the ‘C' Entrance of the new hospital*

More information available on our Facebook Event Page.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER BLOOD DONOR MONTH

January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, a time to recognize the lifesaving contribution of blood and platelet donors. The winter is one of the most difficult times of year to collect enough blood products to meet patient needs, and a perfect time to make a plan to donate.

If you're able, I encourage you to join me in rolling up a sleeve and donating or helping by volunteering at a donation site. I visited Lifesource Donor Center in Gurnee, or you can find a donation site near you using the American Red Cross website.

SPRING 2018 INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Interested in learning what it's like to work in a Congressional Office? Our Lincolnshire Office is still accepting internship applicants for the Spring 2018 semester. Interns help answering phones and managing incoming correspondence, as well as assisting with constituent case work and District-based events.

Learn more and apply on our website.

NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE HOURS
Our office hosts frequent Neighborhood Office Hours for constituents to more easily meet with caseworkers and staff to discuss any federal issues that they may have and learn more about services our office can provide. We're here to help if you have issues with Medicare, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, immigration and more.

This week, we'll be in Des Plaines, Grayslake, Waukegan, and Zion. Check out the full schedule on our website and come meet with us when we're in your community!

WEEKLY WRAP-UP

I'm always looking for new ways to hear from constituents. To start off 2018, I rode the Metra the length of our district from Winthrop Harbor to Glencoe for an informal "Commuter Town Hall." I heard a lot of concerns about the recently passed GOP tax plan, in particular the limits on the state and local tax deduction for Illinois, as well as the need to invest in our infrastructure and education.

On Sunday, State Rep. Sam Yingling and I hosted a health care fair in Round Lake for constituents. Free flu shots and other health services were available for attendees courtesy of Rosalind Franklin University Health Clinics.

Congratulations to Anmol Parande of Vernon Hills High School. His carbon emission tracking app GoGreen was the Tenth District winner of The Congressional App Challenge!

As I travelled around the District last week, I was able to drop off donations of surplus books from the Library of Congress to the Waukegan Public Library, Eddie Washington Center, Highland Park Public Library, and Northbrook Public Library.

I visited Midwest Veterans Closet in North Chicago to learn more about their expanded food and nutrition center. Last month they provided food to more than 400 individuals in our community.

I stopped by LifeWorking Enterprises in Lake Forest to learn about the coworking services they offer the community. Founder and CEO Steve Whittington previously shared his perspective about the opportunities and challenges facing new entrepreneurs during the House Small Business Committee field hearing in Deerfield last month.

Please continue to stay in touch and share your thoughts, either by calling our DC office at (202) 225-4835 or emailing via our website.

Thanks for reading!