Bloomington-Normal citizens and leaders of local organizations gathered Monday afternoon in front of Congressman Darin LaHood's Uptown Normal office to protest the Trump administration's slash and burn approach to trimming federal expenses.
The protest was focused on health care and nutrition assistance provided through programs like Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, or SNAP, as well as Social Security.
About 90 people, including advocates from Citizen Action/Illinois, the Illinois AFL-CIO, Voices of Reason and the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans were present — LaHood, whose district includes portions of Bloomington-Normal, was not.
“We are here today to send a simple message, that working families and working people have to come before the richest 1%,” director of Citizen Action/Illinois Anusha Thotakura said in her remarks to the crowd.
Several protesters held up banners labeled, "Healthcare is a human right." Thotakura led the crowd in chanting this same phrase.
Ryan T. Osborn spoke after Thotakura, saying he has a disability that prevents him from working full time.
“I rely on Medicaid to pay for my doctor visits and medication,” Osborn said. “Without Medicaid, I would be paying hundreds of dollars for my medication. I would not be able to afford it.”
“I know there’s a lot of people out there that feel the same way I do, or who are in the same boat as I am,” Osborn continued. “I’m hoping and I’m praying that these do not get cut. If they get cut, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
The Illinois Single-Payer Coalition, a collective of organizations hoping to establish a single-payer health system, also was present
“I’m here to announce a local campaign to fight for universal health care,” said coalition volunteer Rachel Shively. “Our campaign will ask local government bodies in McLean County to pass resolutions in favor of Medicare for all, like hundreds of cities and counties have done across the country already. By doing so, we can build support for the health care system that we want.”
As he began speaking, local activist Sonny Garcia led the crowd in chanting, "Si se puede," a Spanish slogan that translates to "Yes it can be done." Garcia said he is a union worker and the without health care benefits his union provides, he would not be here today.
“We stand on the shoulders of a lot of the people in this crowd,” Garcia said. “Help the youth fight for our rights.”
Garcia also called out Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a Trump campaign donor who now runs the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE]. At Trump's direction, DOGE has made drastic cuts to the federal workforce and foreign and domestic aid programs, usurping congressional oversight and their power of the purse.
A January executive order that a judge has since paused tried to freeze billions of dollars in federal grants, sending shock waves through municipal government agencies and the nonprofit sector.
“These cuts that the Republicans and the oligarchs are proposing are going to hurt hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois, not to mention the nation,” Garcia said. “We need to come together, regardless of your race, regardless if you’re in a union, regardless if you’re queer, regardless if you’re Muslim, regardless if you’re Jewish — we need to stand up together and demand that we get justice. Demand that the billionaires get out of Washington.”
