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Congressman should meet, serve entire district

I just received an email from my Illinois 6th District Rep. Peter Roskam's scheduler with regards to the April 7 March For Our Lives Town Hall to which he was invited, that "the congressman is unable to attend because of prior commitments."

I find it fundamentally troubling that Peter Roskam is unwilling to meet his constituents in a safe public forum, a church this time, because he previously said that people might shout at him. Ten years since his last town hall, 17 months since his re-election without providing a public forum for comment or question ... it's gotten to the point where his fear may be self-fulfilling.

As a result of his self-imposed exile from his constituents, he's apparently lost his connection with the concerns of so many of the voters in the 6th District, and on so many important issues, such as gun violence, the topic of Saturday's meeting. Which leads to the underlying problem, that it's much easier for Roskam to listen to his fellow Republican legislators, lobbyists and donors. Therefore, his opinions and voting can be influenced by outliers to this district. And that's not good representation.

We get that he's a conservative. What he doesn't seem to get is that his constituents are a diverse group across the conservative to liberal spectrum. He's in office to serve all of us, not to dictate to us. Peter Roskam cannot continue to hide behind closed doors anymore. It is time for Roskam to come out into the light of day to have a dialogue with his constituents. And if not, it's time to replace him with someone who will meet with and "represent" this district.

Greg Reasor

Westmont

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