Welch, Hernandez Discuss Affordability, Speaking Up to Washington at Packed Town Hall Meeting
WESTCHESTER, Ill. – A full house of more than 100 community members joined Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Rep. Norma Hernandez for a town hall meeting Wednesday evening to share their thoughts and discuss efforts to help families make ends meet and put a check on Washington’s extreme agenda.
“Throughout our suburban communities and throughout our state, we see and we feel what’s going wrong in Washington. Their shortsighted policies are raising the cost of everything families buy every day, making it scary to open a utility bill, driving up the cost of healthcare, and making people feel unsafe in their own homes. Worse yet, it makes people feel like Washington just isn’t listening,” Welch said. “A better Illinois begins with listening. It means doing what we can to cut costs, to make health insurance work for working people, and to protect people’s rights. I truly appreciate the people who came out to share their thoughts—because when we hear from people in our communities, we can keep moving Illinois in a better direction and we can tell Washington exactly what we expect.”
Welch and Hernandez welcomed residents to the town hall held at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 hall in Hillside and streamed online on Welch’s social media channels. Welch gave an overview of House Democrats’ efforts to improve access to affordable public transit, to cut home energy costs, and to strengthen due process protections in the wake of Donald Trump’s lawless raids. Discussion also included the upcoming work of the 2026 legislative session, focusing on the state budget, healthcare access and affordability, infrastructure and economic development, and continuing to help families make ends meet as Washington’s policies drive costs higher.
