Sycamore – District 14’s representative Lauren Underwood opened her new office this weekend in Sycamore, Illinois. 

The grand opening was held at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, April 24, at 407 West State St. 

Despite the cold rainy weather, 110 individuals of all ages showed up to offer their support for Underwood and struggled to pack into the tight office hallways.

Upon arrival, employees greeted people at the door with a sign-in sheet. 

Each individual was encouraged to write on a strip of construction paper what they believe is important to them and their communities. People wrote “passion,” “trust,” “compassion,” “honesty,” and much more. These slips of paper are to be linked together to create a chain that will be hung in Underwood’s office. 

The office was filled with decorations that illustrated personality. The hallway was lined with words of encouragement to residents of District 14, and a giant schedule was hung on a wall so people are aware of what is happening in the following week with “team Underwood.”  

“We like to make things fun and relevant and that people feel like they’re comfortable being here… this is for the community,” Underwood said. 

With the spring semester coming to a close, Underwood and her team are excited to get involved with more NIU students in the upcoming fall semester.

“We are really laying the groundwork to have a big presence in the fall,” Underwood said. “So you guys are going to see a lot more of that.”

Social worker Amanda Stuck of Sycamore came out to show her support for Rep. Underwood because she feels strongly that she will prioritize not just health care, but specifically mental health as well. 

“I think it is something that definitely needs to be integrated into regular health care and treated the same way,” Stuck said. 

Rep. Underwood addressed her supporters with a welcome speech where she was able to express some of the changes she still wants to make, for example, getting rid of the filibuster in Congress. 

“It is an anti-democratic practice, the filibuster, that’s why I have called for eliminating the filibuster,” Underwood said. 

Rep. Underwood expressed frustration with the predicted Supreme Court outcome of Roe v. Wade this summer but informed her audience that she has not given up, and neither can they. 

“Many of our neighbors in the Midwest are going to see their rights stripped away. We cannot give up in this fight,” Underwood said, “We will not go back to people dying trying to get health care. We are going to keep fighting and talking about it.” 

Rep. Underwood strongly urges people to vote in the upcoming primary this summer, June 28. 

“We are going to make sure that folks are not only turning out to vote but that they are motivated to vote. They’re excited to vote, and they’re going to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot,” Underwood said. “We need to make sure that in this community we show up for all our Democratic candidates because we can bring change to DeKalb county when we vote.”