Space full for Rep. Bill Foster’s town hall at McHenry County College Wednesday, but livestream planned

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster is hosting a town hall Wednesday, April 16 at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake.

All available seats have been reserved for the event, which will be held at Luecht Auditorium on the MCC campus, but a spokesperson for Foster said there are plans to livestream the event.

Foster posted on X that the town hall had reached the 350-person capacity but that he was offering virtual office hours through Zoom as a way for constituents to communicate with the congressman and ask questions. Those interested in Foster’s office’s virtual office hours can sign up here: tinyurl.com/y4bk94jx.

Foster’s website said all constituents were welcome at the Crystal Lake town hall and that there will be more planned throughout his 11th District.

The town hall is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. for those with reservations. There will be a Q&A session after a presentation, according to the website. A link to the livestream, which is supposed to go live at 7 p.m. Wednesday when the event starts, is available on Foster’s website, foster.house.gov/townhall.

Foster hosted a town hall last month at Benedictine University in Lisle that included Foster and about 600 constituents, according to a news release from Foster’s office.

Much of McHenry County was moved into Foster’s 11th District – a sprawling swath of far suburban and semi-rural areas that spans from McHenry County in the north to Will County in the south – because of redistricting following the 2020 census. Parts of McHenry County are also represented by U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Brad Schneider and Darin LaHood. Schneider recently hosted a telephone town hall last month.

Foster, a Naperville Democrat, has come to McHenry County for town halls before, including one hosted by the Indivisible Northwest Illinois group and another touching on opioid abuse. He also hosted an introductory town hall in 2023 at the Huntley Area Public Library.

Foster has district offices in Aurora and Huntley.