A diverse number of issues that touched on employment-based green cards, gun-owner rights and nationwide standards for ethylene oxide emissions were raised by a crowd Saturday at a “Congress on Your Corner” event hosted by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider along with Sen. Richard Durbin at Zion City Hall.
After warming up the audience with a story that he joked had nothing to do with anything, Durbin turned serious and offered up what he’s currently focusing on — the large cost of prescription drugs that are affecting people who can’t afford them.
Durbin didn’t elaborate too much on the specifics of that work, though, instead giving the floor to residents who had limited time to ask their questions.
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, Stan Pasiewicz voiced his opinion on how English should be the official language of the United States and brought up the lack of industry jobs in the county, which he said are needed in order to have a strong country.
The Ingleside man was told by Durbin that people have to be aware of a shift in industrial manufacturing that shows the current jobs in factories aren’t like the ones of the past.
“The factories of today look a lot different than dad’s factory,” Durbin said.
Adding that industrial engineering positions that don’t require a college degree can start at $60,000, Durbin said, “We gotta get people more acclimated to what factory jobs look like today, and get thoughtful investors in manufacturing to look at the technology that’s going to service us in this century.”
For his part, Schneider said industry is actually growing in Lake County.
“I don’t think its a matter of partisan politics,” Schneider said. “It’s a matter of educating young people and investing in infrastructure.”
Another resident who spoke directly to Durbin asked him to support a recently introduced bill that would end per-country limits on employment-based green cards, which has a decades-long backlog.
Visibly emotional, the woman said she was from India and an industrial organizational psychologist who gave birth to a daughter while the family waited to get their employment-based green card in the U.S.
Now, they might have to uproot their child and move back to India, a country the girl has no ties with, the woman said.
“When people don’t co-sponsor the bill that we have in place that would fix this issue for us, that is really hurtful. It’s really offensive to us,” the woman said.
According to the advocacy group Immigration Voice, which is spearheading the demand for removal of per-country caps, more than 1.5 million legal high-skilled immigrants are stuck in decades-long green card backlogs.
“I do believe that we cannot accept everyone who wants to come here,” Durbin said. “There is a limit to how many people can come through the door, and we have to do it in a sensible way.”
Pointing to Silicone Valley CEOs as an example of how a the country can benefit from an easier and faster system for skilled workers, Durbin said, “We need them, and they’ve created great jobs and great opportunities.”
Another mother who spoke carried her 7-month-old baby as she asked Schneider and Durbin to support getting lawmakers educated before ruling on health issues such as vaccines.
“I’m asking you to make sure that safety studies are being done,” the mom said. “I don’t want anything mandatory for my body.”
The issue moved on to gun safety when a man who said is a father of three wanted asked why Durbin and Schneider support banning certain style of weapons “instead of concentrating on the root cause of what’s causing the gun violence.”
“I support the Second Amendment,” Schneider said. “But we need to have gun safety … and this is one of the areas where I think we can work together. The idea of people having their guns safely in their home and having the training, that’s a good idea that we both support.”
The benefits of veterans were also raised from a daughter and mother who lost family member who was a veteran in November.
Schneider said he couldn’t promise what the outcome would be to their situation, but asked they work with his team as they would try to guide them through the red tape they’re now facing.
After the hour-long event ended, Gurnee resident Diane Surufka said she was thankful for the information she heard from both Durbin and Schneider on protecting the environment.
Surufka was joined by others in the “Stop Etylene Oxidide in Lake County” group that is fighting companies who emit the chemical they say causes heath dangers.
Durbin said what is needed to keep the air clean is for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make rules across the board that states have to follow.
“The U.S. EPA needs to develop a standard,” Durbin said ethylene oxide emissions.Schneider said also he supports the push for that national standard.
Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
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March 9, 2019 at 06:00PM
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