Durbin, Sanguinetti help company celebrate 'America Day'
A typical lunch break doesn't include political speeches along with the hot dogs and ice cream, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin noted Wednesday, eliciting laughter from workers at Northrop Grumman in Rolling Meadows.
Durbin was among the special guests helping the company celebrated its 24th annual America Day, honoring the nation's birthday, veterans and the 2,200 employees who work for Illinois' largest defense contractor.
"The folks that work here are well aware of how critical the work is that we do," said Jeffery Palombo, senior vice president and general manager of the land and self-protection systems division. "Know that we support our troops and we're in it for the long-haul ... protecting and saving lives everyday."
The event, held at the company's Rolling Meadows facility, featured appearances by Durbin, Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and Brig. Gen. Richard Hayes Jr. of the Illinois National Guard.
"Veterans are counting on you for the weapons and technology to complete their mission, come home safely and keep America free," Durbin said.
Sanguinetti's parents immigrated to the U.S. seeking the "American dream," she said, and it instilled in her a great sense of the meaning of freedom and the importance of preserving it.
"My mother is a refugee from Fidel Castro's Cuba, a place where you folks know there are no freedoms to be had," she said. "When he came into power, the first thing he took from us was our ability to defend ourselves."
Sanguinetti said defense contracting plays an important role in Illinois' economy. The industry brings 150,000 jobs and $13.4 billion in economic activity, amounting to 2 percent of the state's gross domestic product.
Hayes, recently named the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, highlighted an anti-missile system Northrop is working on for the guard, which is expected to be completed in early 2017.
"It is common practice in my career when we have celebrations for the officers to get behind the serving line and feed the troops, and Jeff's (Palombo) team did that today and that's kind of special for me," he said.