Congressman shot by Belleville man to speak in Illinois

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana is scheduled to speak later this month at a congressional prayer breakfast in southern Illinois.

Scalise was injured in June 2017 when he was shot while practicing for the annual congressional baseball game in Washington. When he speaks at the Collinsville event April 29 the Belleville News-Democrat reports Scalise will be about 20 miles from where gunman James Hodgkinson last lived in Belleville. Hodgkinson later died .

Scalise goes to physical therapy twice a week in the hopes of being able to walk without crutches by the end of the year. He says he's focusing his "energy on getting better and not dwelling on the past."

Scalise is coming to the Illinois breakfast at the request of U.S. Rep. John Shimkus of Collinsville. The two are roommates in Washington.

___

Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com