[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8919]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THANKING BETTY HAMILTON

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I think most of us involved in public 
life realize that few people meet us and many more people meet those 
who represent us. That is why if you are a success as a Congressman or 
Senator or as an elected official, you really have to rely on the 
people who work for you, who time and again will represent you. Their 
approach, their sense of caring, their promptness, their courtesy will 
reflect on you.
  If you are lucky--really lucky--you will have some extraordinary 
people working for you who cover you with glory every single day--even 
when you don't know it.
  I started in politics and was lucky to have two early mentors. As a 
college student, the Senator who held this seat, Paul Douglas, inspired 
me to take an interest in government. Later, there was a man he 
introduced me to, Paul Simon, whom I succeeded in the Senate. I spent 
more time with Paul Simon, and he truly was my mentor. I inherited many 
of my good habits from him.
  I also inherited something else. I inherited one of his biggest fans 
and hardest workers, who came on my staff. Her name is Betty Hamilton. 
She first had her brush with public service in 1984 when she 
volunteered to work on the Senate campaign of Paul Simon. Paul had a 
way of bringing out the best in people and bringing the best people 
into politics. Betty sure fit the bill.
  In that first campaign, Betty used to pull her two toddlers, Will and 
Ben, in a little wagon as she walked door-to-door in her neighborhood, 
knocking on doors and dropping campaign literature for Paul Simon. She 
was part of an army of volunteers who helped Paul score an upset 
victory in a very tough year, politically. Later, she signed on as 
volunteer coordinator and office manager for Paul Simon's reelection 
campaign.
  After that election, Betty joined my staff when I was still in the 
House of Representatives. She has been with me ever since.
  Betty works in casework. It sounds simple and routine, but it is not. 
Most of her work is with senior citizens. If an older person in 
southern Illinois calls my office because they are having a problem 
with Social Security or Medicare or some other Federal program or 
agency, Betty most often takes that call.
  The people she works with often have no place else to turn. They 
can't afford lawyers. They just need someone who cares and who is 
competent. Maybe they have been incorrectly denied Medicare or 
disability payments or some other benefits they are entitled to, and 
they have tried but cannot cut through the bureaucracy to resolve their 
problems. Many of them are desperate. Some have spent every penny they 
have ever saved and have nothing left. They are on the verge sometimes 
of even losing their homes.
  Betty Hamilton listens to them and she gets to work making phone 
calls, writing letters, sending e-mails, trying to make the wheels of 
government turn the way they should. She is an advocate for fairness 
and good government.
  Over the years, Betty has talked with more than 8,000 people in 
Illinois. They are the lucky ones. She has saved hundreds of people 
from losing their homes. She has given them hope.
  I go back on Fridays to Springfield, and I usually have a couple of 
thank-yous on my desk, and they always relate to staffers who have done 
a good job. Usually Betty's name is on them. I can't count the number 
of people who have written me about the work she has done. They say: 
Thank you for helping me. I greatly appreciate it. It is good to be 
able to pay my bills and take care of my kids, and a special thanks to 
Betty Hamilton.
  I know Betty worries some nights about the people she tried to help. 
She has come in on many Saturdays to write one more letter or make one 
more call she thinks might help. Just last week she helped someone in 
my State collect $31,000 in disability payments that had been 
incorrectly denied them.
  Like most people who grew up in St. Louis, Betty is a die-hard St. 
Louis Cardinals baseball fan. So she knows what I mean when I say I 
consider Betty Hamilton the Stan Musial of casework. Like Stan the Man, 
who played for the Cardinals for 22 years, she has worked for me for 
two decades. Like him, she is a modest person, and like Stan Musial, 
Betty has compiled a long and consistent record of success that is 
likely to remain unbroken for a very long time.
  Betty didn't take to government initially. She has a master's degree 
in horticulture. Four years ago, she and her husband John, then retired 
from the State of Illinois, decided they would buy a farm near 
Springfield where they could raise produce--some of the best green 
beans and tomatoes you ever tasted. You could find them at the 
Springfield Farmers' Market downtown on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I 
know, I have seen them there the last two Saturdays. Don't miss their 
stand; it is the best. That is where I am going to be able to see her 
from now on.
  Betty is retiring from my office, and I will miss her. More 
importantly, the people who have had her fine public service will miss 
her too. We are going to miss her greatly.

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