Congressman LaHood makes visit to Winchester

By Gary Scott on October 19, 2017 at 9:53am

Scott County got a visit from Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood at a meeting yesterday.

LaHood is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives who goes to bat for the people of Illinois’s 18th Congressional District, part of which includes Scott, Cass and Morgan Counties.

While LaHood spends the majority of his time in Washington D.C., he felt the need to visit his Scott County constituents both to convey some of the legislation he’s been pushing for, as well as listen to the needs of everyday citizens.

LaHood says his recess allows time for him to do these types of events, and really gauge the thoughts of the people he represents.

“When I’m back on recess it’s a great opportunity to travel around our district, to come to Scott County, to come to Winchester, really to hear what’s on people’s minds.  You’ve got to always remember that in this job you always have to stay grounded and remember that, in the House of Representatives, you’re closest to the people. I don’t have all the answers, but I think (it’s important to) sit down with people, listening to them, and having an hour with locals here, whether they’re business people or elected officials, to hear what’s on their minds,” LaHood says.

Congressman LaHood explains the importance of having these sorts of meetings, and goes over some of the main topics that were discussed.

“I think the fact that decisions we make in Washington D.C. effect the local communities like Winchester here. We talked a lot about infrastructure, if we could get money for some of the sidewalks here and some the streets and roads, that’s important. We talked about agriculture policy and how it trickles down and effects every business in town here. We have good trade agreements, trade is vitally important for our agriculture sector, we have to have trading agreements for our corn and soybeans. And what that means is, if prices go up here in Scott County for those commodities, that means people are going to buy new equipment, a new truck, they’re going to go to the bank and take out a loan- all of those things of those things help,” LaHood explains.

Other topics that LaHood was asked about and covered included things like healthcare to education, and even his thoughts on term limits for politicians.