Foster meets and greets shoppers in Elgin

It looked like a book signing or a free giveaway.

A line of more than 30 shoppers -- mostly middle-aged -- snaked from the deli in the Larkin Jewel to the flower and balloon shop at the front of the Elgin store.

The several dozen local residents lined up Saturday morning to meet their newest congressman, Bill Foster. Foster replaced longtime Speaker of the House Denny Hastert after winning a special election on March 8.

Foster's appearance, his third in the 14th Congressional District since the election, was part of the Congress on Your Corner program, a way for congressmen to meet their constituents and hear their concerns.

Foster sat at a table in front of the deli as people came up and talked one-on-one with him. Because his visit only lasted an hour, Foster wasn't able to meet with everyone, but he stayed after his allotted time to greet constituents who never got to the front of the line.

One of the latter was Hidayat Khan, who is the editor of an Elgin-based newspaper on Pakistani issues and who mounted an unsuccessful bid for an Elgin City Council seat last year.

As they stood in line, Khan and other local residents talked about the concerns they hoped to share with the new congressman.

Khan said he had wanted to interview Foster, a former nuclear physicist, to solicit his views on Pakistan and the country's nuclear security.

Since the death of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, "people have so many questions in their minds," Khan said. "What is going to happen to their nuclear assets?"

Tana Durnbaugh said Foster's appearance was a good first step for the new congressman but that she'll be watching his voting record to make sure he supports his constituents in Elgin.

"If he wants to actually care for the common people, he needs to care for the people of Elgin," Durnbaugh said.

The Elgin resident and member of the Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice hoped to get some grocery shopping done after her visit with Foster.

"I've got to get some mozzarella cheese for tonight," Durnbaugh said. "I have some friends coming over."

East Dundee resident May Wiswell wanted to talk to Foster about how difficult it is for senior citizens to get driver's licenses.

"I know he's going to take care of people better than what's been done," she said.

May's husband, Harry Wiswell, was just along for the ride and said he had nothing in particular to discuss with Foster.

"I'm with her," Harry said. "She'll do the talking."