The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) invited Toby Hauck to be his guest for President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address last month.
Hauck, an Aurora man formerly of Terre Haute, is an air traffic controller and was one of the more than 8,000 federal employees in Illinois who were impacted by President Trump's 35-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.
Hauck is president of the Chicago ARTCC and said every day the shutdown went on, the stress was added to the workforce.
"They were already on a six-day work week at the Chicago Center, nationally they are on a 30-year low for air traffic controllers and at Chicago Center they were staffed at 80 to 82 percent, causing a six-day work week," he said.
"Everyone's a big part of the team, they're a big part of our safety net behind the scenes," Hauck said.
Even though air traffic controllers continue to work, when their next paycheck is still up in the air, some asked for extensions on their credit card payments and others were trying to find a way to make their mortgage payment.
"It's an honor to be here representing my co-workers and members of the union in Illinois," said Hauck.
"We're still recovering from the effects of the shutdown, and will be for a long time, and many of us are fearful of another shutdown.
"It's important to have leaders speaking on our behalf about the dangers of having another shutdown on the national airspace system."
Toby Hauck is an Air Force veteran and Aurora air traffic controller.
His father and grandfather served in the U.S. military and now his son and daughter-in-law are deployed overseas.
Toby and his wife, a neonatal nurse, are looking after their two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter during the ten-month deployment.
During the shutdown, Durbin told Toby's story on the Senate floor.
U.S. Senate Dick Durbin (D-IL) visits with Toby Hauck (left), an air traffic controller, a Terre Haute native and president of the Chicago ARTCC. (Toby, formerly of rural Terre Haute is the brother of Mrs. Barry (Jody) Bigger who lives in rural Media)