PEORIA, Ill. – He heard about everything from infrastructure, to claims the plan of the Postmaster General is to all but completely shut the post office down.
17th District Congressman Eric Sorensen met with local and state union leaders Monday in Central Illinois. He held a roundtable discussion with local and state union leaders at the International Union of Operating Engineers hall. He had a similar meeting in Bloomington.
“There are too many places where infrastructure is failing us today,” said Sorensen, to reporters, after the meeting. “Everything I do as the Congressman in the 17th Congressional District, has to be an investment on the future.”
The East Moline Democrat says he has money in the proposed federal budget to fix sidewalks in South Peoria so kids can more safely get to school, among other infrastructure projects.
But he says while he drives an electric vehicle, he’d recommend buying a gas or hybrid vehicle right now, because there still aren’t enough EV charging stations anywhere close to anyone’s homes.
“The infrastructure is not there for everyone to have an EV. So, right now, a hybrid is probably the way to go,” said Sorensen, owner of both a Jeep and an electronic vehicle. “How do we make sure that people are able to get into an EV, and drive to where they need to go? We’re going to need the infrastructure built.”
Among other topics, Sorensen was asked how he feels about people attending trade schools versus traditional college education. He said no matter which way students decide to go, government should be there to help them pay for their education, and do a better job of it than now.
Sorensen, a former television meteorologist, also told the roundtable while he’s listed as a Democrat, he’s a “problem solver,” and “not a politics guy.” He said the federal government should be helping people, not getting into bickering matches with people who are angry – which he says permeates throughout Congress, and never results in good decisions being made.
Sorensen says for the most part, legislation he’s worked on in Congress has had some form of support from a Republican – including in some cases with Rep. Darin LaHood, a Republican from the Peoria area.
