Letter: By way of closure, a thank you

An open letter to Congressman Sean Casten:

On Tuesday, January 3, when you take the oath of office in the U.S. House of Representatives for the third time, you will officially no longer "represent" me and thousands like me who live in the "Old" Illinois Sixth Congressional District. We didn't move; the district did. How that happened no longer matters; it's simply fact now. And so starting Tuesday, almost 70% of the people living in the "Old 6th" will be represented by a variety of Congresspeople who are very good and competent, but who aren't you.

There seems to be one bit of closure remaining for those of us in the "Casten Diaspora," and that is to say, "thank you, Congressman." So, allow me. On behalf of the thousands of us in the "Old 6th" who didn't find your name on our ballots in November, to thank you for not forgetting about us even after you knew we couldn't vote for you again. Thank you for the millions of tax dollars you returned to us in the form of community investment. Thank you for helping us with problems only our congressman could solve.

And more, thank you for stepping in and carrying the banner that helped us finally flip the 6th in 2018. Thank you for giving us something and someone to believe in and cheer for. And most of all, thank you for never becoming a "typical" politician, for being so darn smart, for always putting us and the district first, for acting on our values and for delivering on the promises you made during your first two terms.

For these and lots of other reasons, many of us say you will always be "our congressman." We'll be watching and rooting for you and wishing you great success in the 118th Congress because when you succeed, we do, too.

Stephanie Certain Matz

Hawthorn Woods