DeKalb County democratic politicos gathered at Hopkins Park Friday night to show support for and hear Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) speak.

Among the notables in attendance were Frank Van Buer, candidate for DeKalb mayor, and DeKalb County Board Chairwoman Ruth Ann Tobias.

Before Durbin spoke, Van Buer joked about his political roots.

“My parents wanted to make sure I knew what party I was going to be in,” he said. “My name is Franklin Delano.”

Durbin approached the podium to a standing ovation and made his own foray into the upcoming local elections.

“I knew the DeKalb mayor when he was a Democratic eagle,” Durbin said. “Now he’s a Republican sparrow.”

The crowd cheered and Durbin went on to hammer President George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security.

“For 70 years plus, Social Security has been a bone in the throat of Republicans,” Durbin said.

The president’s move toward an ownership society will severely damage the program that has moved more seniors out of poverty than any other in American history, Durbin said.

Durbin also contested the president’s assessment of the financial well-being of Social Security.

“It won’t be bankrupt,” Durbin said. “Social Security left untouched . . . will make every single payment to every single retiree with a cost of living adjustment every single year until 2042.”

Durbin also the stressed the importance of support for overseas American troops, regardless of citizen’s personal views on the Iraq war.

Durbin, who voted against the Iraq war, said he invited two Illinois National Guard soldiers to the president’s State of the Union Address on Feb. 2.

One of the soldiers, Maj. Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth of Hoffman Estates, had both legs blown off and lost half her blood when an RPG hit her Blackhawk helicopter.

“How can this be possible?” Durbin said of Duckworth’s attendance at the speech. “I was just amazed by her.”

Support for the troops does not necessarily mean support for the president’s foreign policy, Durbin said.

“We’re going to disagree with this president on foreign policy and I don’t think there is a darn thing unpatriotic about that,” he said.

Lifelong DeKalb residents Jeff Strack and Mary Lu were on hand for the senator’s speech.

“I think it’s a recognition that DeKalb County is turning,” Strack said about Durbin’s visit.

Both Lu and Strack said they were pleased with Durbin’s focus on the president’s Social Security plan.

“We can say down the line that we pretty much agree with the senator,” Lu said.