March 14, 2020

Congressman Casten Implements Office Changes in Response to COVID-19

Glen Ellyn, IL. – Today U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) sent the following updates on COVID-19 and recent changes to his Washington, D.C., Glen Ellyn district office, and Barrington satellite office operations to his constituents. These changes have been implemented in order to protect the health of his constituents as well as prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Congressman Casten and staff will continue to serve the 6^th District of Illinois. To do so effectively, the office will implement the following new operating procedures, consistent with guidance from public health and safety officials and directives from the House Sergeant at Arms. A majority of staff in Washington, D.C. and in Glen Ellyn will continue working full-time for our constituents from remote locations.

We will continue to:

Receive and respond to telephone calls. If you need to speak to a member of my team, you can call my Washington office at 202-225-4561 or my Glen Ellyn office at (630) 520-9450.
Provide casework assistance. If you need assistance with a federal agency, we may be able to help. More information can be found here.
Answer correspondence. The best way to contact my office for assistance is by submitting an email.
Schedule meetings. If you would like to request a meeting with me or my staff, you can submit a meeting request or email staff directly. Please note, as long as our telecommuting policy is in place, we will conduct meetings over the telephone rather than in person.
Mobile office hours. We have suspended mobile office hours at local libraries.

Congress continues to work to mitigate the full-scale impacts of the spread of COVID-19 across the country. Last week, Congress passed emergency funding legislation to provide $8.3 billion to fund the development of treatments and a coronavirus vaccine; protect against price-gouging of medicines; provide public health funding for prevention, preparedness, and response; and support small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Casten voted to pass H.R. 6201 the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This legislation is focused directly on providing support for America's families, who must be our first priority during this crisis, and includes:

Free coronavirus testing for everyone who needs a test, including the uninsured.
Paid emergency leave, with both 14 days of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.
Strengthened food security initiatives, including SNAP, student meals, seniors' nutrition and food banks.

As with any public health emergency, it is important to get factual, verified information. Please visit http://CDC.gov for the latest and most accurate information. Locally, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is tracking the number of cases in our state.

IDPH has a number of resources including guidelines on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, if you have questions, ILDPH can be reached at 1-800-889-3931 or by email at DPH.SICK@ILLINOIS.GOV. The IDPH website can be found here.