Political Quotes

“I have been a Senator for a number of years and have visited Iraq and Afghanistan on three separate occasions. I try my best to meet with as many of our soldiers as possible--but, of course, focus on those from Illinois--to sit and eat lunch with them and talk about the Cubs, the White Sox, the Bears, the Bulls, the news back home. The thing that haunts me...are the frequent conversations where they say: Does anybody know we are still here? Does anybody back home know what we are going through? It really is heartbreaking to think that these men and women are risking their lives every day while we go about our safe, secure, normal, daily routine and how little focus we put on this war and the men and women who are fighting it for us and particularly those who have given their lives. We have lost almost 150 soldiers in Illinois. I took an inspiration from the Senator from Massachusetts and said I was going to send a note to every family in Illinois who loses a soldier. I thought after a year or two that task would have been completed. After 5 years, it is not. Sadly, in our State and every other State we are still losing lives.”