Have you ever gone to a party but the guest of honor did not attend?
That’s how I felt this week when I went to a purported town meeting with Congressman Adam Kinzinger Tuesday night.
The event was planned by the DeKalb Area Progressives and a spokesman said they had reached out to the Congressman several times about a meeting with his constituents, to no avail.
So they scheduled one without him. I wish he had been there because I think it would have done him a service.
There were more than 120 people there, residents of the 16th Congressional District, a gerrymandered district that runs from South Beloit to Decatur.
There have been a number of stories in the news about representatives returning home to town meetings only to be booed, jeered and confronted by angry constituents.
And to be sure, there was anger in the audience Tuesday night. But there was also fear and concern and a sense on uncertainty about where their elected representative stands.
What would Congressman Kinzinger have been asked?

The woman who battled colon cancer was concerned about health insurance. Her battle with the cancer began before the Affordable Care Act, and insurance companies would not provide her with coverage because she had a preexisting condition. But under the ACA she was able to get insurance. And peace of mind.
He would have heard about the woman earning $15,000 and living with her 56-year-old mother who has a progressive neurological disease. She wanted to ask what happens to their insurance and how will they get the medications they need if the ACA goes away.
He would have heard from the man whose brother’s family just had a baby boy, a boy born with a severe heart defect that will require surgeries now and in the future. Without the ACA, how will they be able to provide the medical treatment and care this child will need.
He would have heard a question about the future of Social Security and why the cap on paying Social Security taxes hasn’t been increased to help keep the system solvent.
He would have heard concerns about pipelines crossing northern Illinois and the environmental disaster they could potentially cause if they rupture.
He would have heard concerns about keeping the Environmental Protection Agency strong in order to keep us, we the people, safe from corporate polluters.
He would have heard about the woman who came to the United States to escape violence in her homeland.  She got married here and began the process of becoming a citizen. But after paying thousands of dollars, she was told to begin the process over because the rules have changed. She could be sent back to her violent homeland, despite being married to a U.S. citizen because someone at immigration does not believe the marriage is valid.
He would have heard people tell of family friends, friends from Mexico especially, who are now afraid their time in the United States is limited, despite them working jobs, paying taxes and staying out of trouble because our immigration system is broken and Congress has refused to fix it.
He would have heard people who are afraid of their country being dragged into a war; people concerned about intolerance — people who wonder how much a foreign country was involved in our electoral system.
You could say this meeting was arranged by people opposed to the president and his policies, and you would be correct.
But these are people who are concerned about what all of us are concerned about: protecting our environment, access to affordable health care, a strong economy, a brighter future for our children.
Congressman Kinzinger should be meeting with constituents listening to their concerns and answering their questions.
Will it always be a pleasant experience? Probably not. But no one said your job was going to be easy.
When Kinzinger opted for this job, representing the people of the 16th Congressional District, he basically made a commitment to know us, meet with us, talk with us, answer our questions. Face to face.