Crystal Lake boy gets once in a lifetime meeting with President Biden
Travis Alexander greets President Joe Biden
MCHENRY COUNTY – For McHenry County residents, July 7 was no ordinary day as President Joe Biden made a visit to McHenry County College (MCC) in an effort to bolster support for his bipartisan infrastructure deal, part of his “Build Back Better” agenda.
Biden also pitched his proposal to invest in families and education which are topics included in his American Families Plan.
Before Biden’s 30-minute speech to distinguished guests, he toured the on-campus metals lab and MCC’s Children’s Learning Center (CLC). It was there that 4-year-old Travis Alexander, got to experience the opportunity of a lifetime.
Only invited individuals were allowed on campus during Biden’s visit, which Travis’s father Marshall Alexander, describes as a great honor to have his family selected to partake in the event.
Marshall, who resides in Crystal Lake and works as a recruiter for the Marine Corps, explained that his wife Briana, studies nursing at MCC while Travis attends the Children’s Learning Center. The day before Biden’s MCC visit, Briana was contacted by one of the school’s head directors, notifying her that she and Travis were one of three CLC families selected to meet the president.
“So, they got there and the president came in and unfortunately the weather was starting to get bad so he was actually rushed out because he still had to do his speech. So, my wife, she tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey, can you take a picture with Travis?’ [Travis] was the actual only one out of the entire, I guess visitors, that actually got to take a picture with the president,” Marshall said.
“He was very excited…Every time we talk about it, he giggles because he’s just so happy. Basically, his thing is he just think’s it’s so cool he got to meet President Biden because whenever he first walked in, he’s like, ‘Mommy, that’s President Biden.’ So, it’s just an honor for my wife to be nominated by the school to be one to represent the school. Be able to talk to [Biden] about the child care at MCC and how great it is, how great it’s been for her.”
When asked what his favorite part about meeting the president was, Travis gleefully responded with, “playing.”
Travis enjoyed the many pictures he was able to take and added that when he grows up, he wants to be “a cop.”
As for Briana, she was able to explain to Biden the importance of childcare for all parents.
“I think it’s super important that everyone has an opportunity to an education. I think in my personal opinion, having a child care center is super important. Whether that’s to single parents or married parents, young or old parents, I wouldn’t have been able to go back to college if it wasn’t for the child care center,” Briana said.
“The child care center at MCC is absolutely phenomenal. The teachers are wonderful. The staff is wonderful. It’s not just a babysitting service. They are actually teaching the kids. I would say MCC is the best school. Find a college that offers a child care center. Kids are safe, they’re close, they’re in the same building as you.”
Democratic representative for District 1 on the McHenry County Board Theresa Meshes, expressed her delight in looking forward to what Biden’s plan will bring to the community.
“The visit of President Biden to Crystal Lake was very exciting to see our community getting national attention during the visit. I am very proud of the work being completed at McHenry County Community College and the work our nation is doing to help support families and communities,” Meshes told My Huntley News via email.
With McHenry County being the only collar county to vote in favor of Republican former president Donald Trump in the April 2020 presidential elections, it was no surprise that Biden’s visit was met with it’s fair share of backlash from some community members.
Local resident Mike Hansen, was present at the Biden protests outside of MCC, though despite his political stance, was highly impressed at Biden’s travel arrangements.
“I like to see the aircraft. It’s really impressive. Politically, I’m not a fan of Biden, but that’s okay. I see many of my neighbors and friends express their views, much of which I share, but outside of that, he is the president. Just never seen one of these [aircrafts] before and it really is impressive to see all the hardware that’s out there,” Hansen said regarding Biden’s escort aircraft, the Osprey MV-22, that had landed at MCC.
As an added note, starting Thursday, July 15, qualified families will begin seeing payments of up to $300 per month for each child under 6-years-old, and up to $250 per month for children between the ages of 6 and 17.
The payments are part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which expanded the child tax credit for one year and made it possible to pre-pay the benefits on a monthly basis.
Democrat Rep. Sean Casten, who represents the 6th District that encompasses portions of Kane and McHenry counties, states it is the president’s goal to make that child tax credit permanent.
“[Biden wants] to make that a part of our regular economy because it lifts people out of poverty because it gives people a better opportunity because it lets us all live up to our full potential regardless of how wealthy our parents are,” Casten said via a Facebook live video.
