Letter: Re-elect Lauren Underwood for the 14th Congressional District

I encourage voters in the 14th Congressional District to reelect Lauren Underwood. She has surpassed my expectations for her first term.

I knew Lauren would work hard on behalf of everyone in the district, but I had no idea how successful she would be. She works tirelessly on behalf of all her constituents, is a member of three important committees: Education and Labor, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, and has had four bills passed into law. That is practically unheard of for a first-term lawmaker.

Two bills are important to mention. First, as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, her bipartisan bill, the Veteran’s Care Quality Transparency Act, ensures the VA and its subcontracting health care providers offer quality mental health and suicide prevention services. She has had three pinning ceremonies to honor our district’s veterans. Another significant bill passed into law is the Lower Insulin Costs Now Act, which helps families afford their life-saving medication. She is dedicated to helping the people of our district and the country with real-world problems.

After Lauren was elected, she set up eight district offices. However, with the onset of the pandemic, virtual office hours by phone or Zoom can be arranged for constituents to receive help with issues such as federal grant applications, Medicare benefits, military benefits, Social Security issues and more.

She is the epitome of a selfless public servant. She treats everyone with respect and kindness. It would be a terrible mistake to elect her opponent, Jim Oberweis, a wealthy dairy magnet who is a perennial campaigner, who lives part of the time in Florida, and who seeks the office, not to work on our behalf, but as a feather in his cap.

Reelect Lauren Underwood to Congress. She is accessible, works hard for us and deserves your vote.

Lynn Knepper

Sycamore