Up close and personal
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Printable FormatPEORIA JOURNAL STAR
By MOLLY PARKER
Town hall meeting gives Pekin-area residents a chance to talk with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama
PEKIN - Elaine and Daniel Schmidt of Pekin arrived two hours early to get front-row seats at the town hall meeting U.S. Sen. Barack Obama hosted here Tuesday.
They wanted him to listen to their concerns about the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
"We can't get anybody to help us," Daniel explained after the noon meeting.
Obama listened patiently and then explained their issue would be better directed to a state lawmaker because he mainly deals with federal agencies. Still, Obama said that as a former state lawmaker he shared their concern that DCFS lets some cases slip through because the agency often lacks the resources and staff to do the job they should.
"We were satisfied with his answer," Daniel Schmidt said. "We understand there's only so much he can do. We just wanted somebody to listen because we have quite the story to tell."
Tuesday's town hall meeting at the Pekin Public Library attended by about 220 central Illinois residents marked the 26th question-and-answer forum the Democrat lawmaker has held around the state with constituents since he was elected last November. Many in the audience said they were just as enamored that he was there to listen as by what the popular lawmaker said.
Obama described the meetings as an opportunity for constituents to "open up the hood and kick the tires" on the senatorial product they sent to Washington, D.C., and for him to remain in touch with what's on Illinoisans' minds.
"When someone gets sent to Washington . . . after a while there's a tendency to start representing Washington to the voters rather than representing the voters to Washington," he said.
During the meeting, Obama let people ask about anything on their minds.
In response to questions, he called on President Bush to appoint a moderate with mainstream views to replace the U.S. Supreme Court seat vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor. Obama also said the country should seriously rethink its energy policy and reduce dependence on foreign oil, discussed his call for more comprehensive benefits for veterans and said Americans should be more generous with foreign aid.
Obama, who has held office for six months now, also expressed frustration with the lack of serious debate that has taken place on the Senate floor regarding issues he believes are most important to voters, such as health care.
"Instead, we have a lot of partisan food fights," he said.
As a disclaimer to attendees who might expect he could whisk away problems with a magic wand, Obama noted that he is 99th in seniority in the Senate.
That's not to say Obama doesn't revel in his job. The drawer of each desk on the Senate floor has the names of previous occupants scratched in it, and seeing the marks of former senators Paul Simon of Illinois and New York's Bobby Kennedy "reminds you it really is the citadel of Democracy," he said.
While Obama may still be in awe of past political legends, it seems the admiration from constituents back home and across the country is keeping him the man of the hour. He was certainly that in Pekin, where people swarmed him for signatures and pictures after the event.
"He listens, and he's genuine," said 18-year-old Rita Trentadue of Manito, who got an autograph from Obama on the Time magazine essay he wrote recently about Abraham Lincoln.
"He didn't make any big opening remarks," Trentadue said. "He just came all the way here to small-town U.S.A. to listen to us. He makes me care. And I know he's going to be president some day."