Saturday, November 21, 2009 East Central Illinois

Illinois Coffee packed with those in town to see inauguration

By Melissa Merli
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 7:02 AM CDT

WASHINGTON – State Sen. Michael Frerichs was standing near an entrance to the packed Members' Room in the Library of Congress on Monday morning, waiting for the Illinois Coffee event to begin.

Finally, its host, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, arrived.

"Did you bring that little baby out here?" Durbin asked Frerichs, referring to his daughter Ella, born 3 months ago to Frerichs and his wife, Laura.

"No, it's too cold. We left her with Grandpa and Grandma," the state senator replied.

Frerichs and hundreds of other Illinois residents – politicians, political junkies and students – crammed into the ornate Members' Room for Illinois Coffee, a sort of town meeting for constituents who are visiting the Capitol.

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