Casten, Democratic organization to host town hall meetings throughout Illinois

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, and the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association [IDCCA] will host a series of town halls throughout Illinois.

Many of the areas they will visit are among the hardest hit by turmoil coming from Washington, D.C., and these town halls will allow voters to finally have the chance to speak to a member of Congress in person, according to a news release.

The first town hall will be in Dixon on April 12.

“I was first motivated to run for Congress in part because my predecessor refused to meet with Illinoisans during the first Trump Administration,” Casten said in the release. “I’m proud to have held 80 town halls since I was elected in 2018. Since the start of the second Trump administration, voters in both red and blue counties have been eager to engage with their elected officials and hear about what’s happening in Washington. As I continue to host town halls in my district, I’ll also be heading to some of the deepest red areas of Illinois to talk to them about what can be done to protect our democracy.”

Casten’s most recent town hall meeting in the 6th District was shut down by Downers Grove police after a group of pro-Palestinian protestors continually interrupted the meeting.

Police escorted about a half dozen pro-Palestinian protesters and two pro-Israeli protesters from the town hall meeting, which was held at American Legion Post 80.

After about an hour of repeated interruptions and a moment when Casten left the podium in an attempt to deescalate the audience, police made the decision to halt the event. More than 250 attendees left without the opportunity to get their questions answered.

Casten said he takes pride in hosting town hall meetings, but has chosen to do telephone town halls recently “because they are less likely to be disrupted.”

He said he holds about one town hall each month and “one a week lately” because of the “Constitutional crisis we are finding ourselves in.”

“Illinois voters elected Darin LaHood, Mary Miller and Mike Bost to be their voice in Washington, but they now can’t be bothered to hear directly from their constituents,” said IDCCA President Mark Guethle. “Perhaps they’re afraid they’ll hear from folks who are unhappy about Donald Trump and Elon Musk cutting programs to feed school children and firing people who deliver Social Security benefits.

“Since they won’t hold a town hall meeting, the IDCCA is proud to step forward to help host Congressman Sean Casten in their districts so those Illinois residents can be heard in the halls of Congress.”

Information on how members of the community can RSVP for the town hall in Dixon will be available soon. Future dates and location announcements are forthcoming.