While the condition of her stepson, injured Green Beret Capt. Jay Bush, may have been uppermost in her thoughts, it was veterans who were the focus of comments Saturday by Congressional candidate and state Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete.

Halvorson was the top guest Saturday for the noon opening of the La Salle County Democratic Organization's campaign headquarters in a small house at 300 W. Norris Drive, just west of the Hi-Way Restaurant. About 50 people attended, including several prominent local Democrats.

During the event, state Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley cited Halvorson as key in keeping funds intact for the full expansion of the state's La Salle Veterans Home. State Rep. Careen Gordon, D-Morris, also was present.

Halvorson is campaigning for the 11th Congressional District seat now held by Jerry Weller, R-Morris. Her Republican opponent is Martin Ozinga III of Homer Glen. The Green Party candidate is Jason Wallace of Normal.

The event began with a request from County Democratic Chairman Rocky Raikes for "a moment of silence and prayers for all our soldiers that they get home safe. We've got wonderful people over there fighting for us."

Halvorson's stepson, an Army Special Forces captain deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year, was injured there and taken to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. The news was released Thursday.

Halvorson called her stepson's condition "a very, very private family situation."

But she responded to questions with a brief update for the crowd.

"He was the commander of a fire base. We don't have all the details yet, but unfortunately there's been a serious injury. During a night a mission he had fallen about 25 to 30 feet, broke his back, and they think his neckÉ

"We got word that at 11 p.m. last night he had been safely gotten to Walter Reed (Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.)

"I appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers. Our family is lucky. Our son is going to live. It's going to be a long recovery. But he's going to be okay. We need to remember those who aren't going to be okay. We need to bring them home in the safest and most expedient way possible."

Halvorson declined to speak further about the Middle East wars. It was not the day for that, she said.

"But this just reiterates how we have to be there for our veterans. I have worked for many years to make sure of veterans health care.

"We are currently working very hard to make the old Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet to be a veterans hospital. It is imperative, and we've been working on these veterans' issues for years. We've got to make sure we are there for our veterans when they come home. We need to be there forever. We have to make sure they have the best health care, the best opportunities. They are giving up a lot of their tomorrows for our todays."

Mautino gave an update on the La Salle Veterans Home.

"We went through about ($1.4 billion) in budget cuts this year. However the La Salle Veterans Home money was safe. The $6 million to get us to 100 percent occupancy was there specifically because of Debbie Halvorson. Careen and I got the money into the budget at a time when it was about to go, the majority leader of the Senate made sure it stayed there and I want to give her full credit for that.

"Anybody who is a public servant like all of us know it's not the credit that we're looking for -- it's the action," Halvorson said. "We don't need words, we need action, and that's why you're very fortunate to have state legislators like you do, like Careen and Frank É this is a team effort."

Halvorson said her goal was to improve conditions for middle class Americans.

"Everywhere we go we hear that people are worried about the values of their homes. People are worried about their jobs. They're worried about whether they can put food on the table -- and then on top of it all, how are we going to send our young people to college?

"Those are not things we should be worried about. I know and you know that America can do better, and that's what we need to do from top to bottom, and, like I said, bottom to top.

"We need a Congressperson who knows what its like... We talk about out ends not meeting. There were times when I was a single mom trying to put food on the table that my ends did not even know each other."

Also present were Uitca resident Steve Stout, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville, La Salle County Board Chairman Jerry Hicks and board members Al Piecha, Mary "Kelly" Reffett, Rick Scott and Tom Walsh, La Salle County Clerk Jo Ann Carretto and Herman "Bones" Bruns of Streator, the Democrat opposing incumbent Glenn Garretson, R-Streator.