Seniors Hear From Hultgren, State Lawmakers in Montgomery

About 40 people, most over the age of 55, were on hand Tuesday morning to meet five of their federal and state legislators at .

Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren joined four state lawmakers—State Reps Tom Cross (R-Oswego), Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) and Kay Hatcher (R-Yorkville), and State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora)—to give updates on new laws and talk about issues that impact seniors.

Top of the list for Hultgren was Medicare, which the House voted to restructure earlier this year. (The measure was defeated in the Senate.) Hultgren pledged that he would not support any changes to Medicare for those over 54, and said it was important to him that Medicare and Social Security remain strong.

“We are digging into that, and taking it seriously,” he said, adding that any changes should only affect those 54 and younger, those who “can get ready for it.”

“Those 55 and older rely on Medicare and Social Security to be solvent,” he said, and suggested that the way to make that happen is to get the economy rolling again. And the way to do that, he said, is to get small businesses feeling secure enough to hire full-time workers again.

Joanne Perkins of Aurora questioned that, saying, “We cannot put the country back to work with mom and pop operations. What is the responsibility of the corporations and the government to provide good jobs?”

Hultgren said he would like to see both small businesses and large corporations start hiring again. After fielding a few questions, Hultgren met with a few of the more agitated members of the audience in the hallway, listening to their complaints.

The Illinois lawmakers took turns discussing the state budget. Cross led with an understatement (“The previous governor was not a plus for us”), and explained that state legislators budgeted for about a billion less in revenue than they expect to take in this year, and will use the balance to pay down bills.

Hatcher discussed two pieces of legislation she’s been working on, one to provide regulation for those running estate sales, and one to protect families at military funerals from protesters. And Chapa LaVia talked about ways to keep pharmaceutical companies from overmedicating their patients, and touted new laws that increase penalties for those who scam seniors.

By the time all five had finished speaking, there was virtually no time left for questions. Only a couple audience members had the chance to speak before they all went downstairs for a previously-scheduled senior luncheon.