Foster opens congressional office

DIXON - When U.S. Rep. Bill Foster strode into his newly opened congressional office in downtown Dixon on Saturday, his welcome was not exactly overwhelming. With little more than a borrowed plant near the doorway and nails that once supported a picture of his predecessor, Dennis Hastert, still sticking out from the walls, the inner office looked pretty barren. Before long, however, the crowd that began with a mere two constituents grew to roughly 30 people who helped fill in any empty space. Visitors posed a mix of questions to the freshman congressman, from job outsourcing and the war in Iraq to gasoline prices and the real estate market. Foster, a Democrat from Geneva, said he relishes opportunities to discuss those kinds of issues with