SPEAKING TO THE SPEAKER
By Matthew DeFour
Staff writer
Political demonstrations in Batavia have increased since Dennis Hastert
became Speaker of the House and the country went to war in Iraq.
BATAVIA – On the eve of the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq,
an undercurrent of political dissent stirs hundreds of miles from
Washington in the shadows of a sleepy Fox River Valley town.
Empty boots line the streets, crosses and coffins memorialize those
killed in the conflict, and citizens prepare to march with banners
and slogans in opposition to the war.
It’s an unfamiliar scene in most Valley communities, but this
particular town hosts the district office of U.S. Speaker of the
House Dennis Hastert, and increasingly since his ascension to that
position in 1999, the Batavia office has become a lightning rod of
political activism.
Though political demonstrators have been coming to Hastert’s office at
27 N. River St. for more than a decade, the most recent war protests
marked the first weeklong demonstration in the city’s history.
As opposition to the war increases and President Bush’s approval
ratings plummet in the buildup to a pivotal midterm election season,
many have begun to wonder what it takes to turn the political tide.
A political dialogue
Hastert himself doesn’t disguise his distaste for political
demonstrators who he believes target his office in order “to grab a
little press.”
“If a constituent has an issue, they can walk into my office anytime,”
Hastert said. “If people want to catch my ear, they should sit down
and talk with me. When people show up and try to bully their way in,
you have to try extra hard to be appreciative of their point of view.”
Hastert’s staff meets with constituents on a daily basis, which is the
primary purpose for the Batavia office. Sometimes Hastert learns more
about constituent concerns, as was the case last month when he sat
down with 16 local Hispanic leaders to talk about immigration issues.
“Whether a constituent agrees or disagrees with the Congressman’s
position, we feel it is our job to explain why he believes what
he believes and to hear from them the reason for their position,”
Hastert spokesman Brad Hahn said. “Ultimately, Congressman Hastert
does what he believes is right for his constituents and the country.
That does not change because people hold demonstrations.”
In the past, some demonstrators have been invited inside to sit down
with staff and discuss issues. But ever since an anti-war group in
2003 refused to leave the speaker’s office until they were put in
direct contact with the congressman, the office has been wary of
groups that rally with an agenda.
“Our rule of thumb is we want to sit down and exchange information and
ideas with our constituents,” Hahn said. “When the intent is simply
to embarrass the congressman or get publicity for a group or a cause,
we will not participate in that.”
Issue by issue
The degree of wariness tends to wobble, however, depending on the
issue.
Last year, a representative for the office came out to speak about
Aurora Beacon News, IL March 19 2006
specific legislation to a group holding a prayer vigil for Terry
Schiavo, the brain-dead Florida woman who became the focus of a
national right-to-life debate. In 2003, following the invasion of Iraq,
the Speaker issued a written statement to a group that had organized a
“support our troops” rally.
Many demonstrators, however, whether protesting the war or calling
for the recognition of Armenian genocide, are not greeted by anyone
from the office and must deliver letters through a Batavia police
officer standing guard at the front door.
Even those who do gain access feel their viewpoint is heard but not
taken seriously.
“Congressman Hastert is very nonresponsive to anyone who he does not
agree with,” said Mary Shesgreen, chairman of Fox Valley Citizens
for Peace and Justice, which has participated in the last week of
anti-war demonstrations.
“Over all the years that I have been calling and writing Dennis
Hastert’s office, I don’t believe I have ever had any evidence that
my calls or letters or visits to his office made the slightest bit
of difference in the way he votes.”
Mobilizing against the war
Shesgreen, of Elgin, has met with Hastert’s staff as well as
participated in a number of demonstrations throughout the years,
but her most impassioned endeavor has been calling for the troops
in Iraq to come home – a position she believes she shares with the
majority of the American people.
But she hasn’t always represented the popular view. Even before the
Iraq conflict, Shesgreen decried the war in Afghanistan, which even
Democratic leaders have continued to defend while criticizing the
Iraq war as a distraction from the broader war on terror.
In February 2003, as the United States was preparing to invade Iraq,
Shesgreen helped organize hundreds of people to protest the war, but
after the bombs began to fall on March 20, the nation came together
to support the president’s decision, as evidenced by the 150 people
who attended the “support our troops rally” at Hastert’s office,
compared with only a dozen war protesters, including Shesgreen.
“Once the war started, our numbers dwindled because people thought it
was a done deal,” Shesgreen said. “Now the participation is increasing
because they sense the tide turning.”
Shesgreen said the anti-war mood has been strong in downtown Batavia
this past week, with tremendous support from passers-by. Many people
have been waving from their cars and signing a petition to bring the
troops home.
The attitude is markedly different than when military mother-turned-war
protester Cindy Sheehan visited the Fox Valley last year. Shesgreen
said she contacted Hastert’s office about setting up a meeting between
Sheehan and the Speaker or his staff, but the office refused.
The reason Shesgreen continues to rally at Hastert’s office is
because it is the only local representation of power from the
nation’s capital. She also believes political demonstrations have the
potential to effect change, like last year’s demonstration against
the privatization of Social Security.
“President Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security got squelched
and it got squelched by public opinion across the country,” Shesgreen
said. “The public demonstrations throughout the country against the
privatization of Social Security did succeed, although that fight
isn’t over yet.”
Speaking the truth
The Social Security protest at Hastert’s office was organized by
another veteran of Batavia political demonstrations: William McNary,
president of Citizen Action Illinois and co-director of its national
counterpart USAction.
McNary’s organization has promoted a national progressive agenda
through lobbying, candidate endorsements and demonstrations.
And he considers a demonstration outside Hastert’s office as the
event that catapulted his organization from nearly imploding in 1996
to its current membership of 3 million people in 24 states.
In September 1999, about 40 seniors bused to Batavia from Chicago
chanted slogans like, “Don’t sell seniors down the river,” and “Don’t
push seniors into HMOs,” as they vented their frustrations about
high-price prescription drugs and expensive managed-care premiums.
Two months later, more than 250 demonstrators returned to Hastert’s
Batavia office as part of a USAction conference in Chicago, once
again demanding prescription drug coverage for seniors.
Last year, President Bush passed Medicare reform with provisions for
prescription drug coverage. Though McNary said he still disagrees
with many of the specifics of the Medicare plan, he believes his
organization was instrumental in promoting a national discussion.
“It surely helps to have a disciplined message,” McNary said. “There
are a lot of people that are mad at this administration and are
mad at the Republican leadership. When these people get together,
the message is ‘angry people mad at Republicans.'”
McNary admits that one of the main purposes of the political rallies
is to draw attention to an underrepresented viewpoint, and if the
Speaker of the House isn’t listening, the media and the general public
often are.