RELEASE: Southern Illinois Leaders, Healthcare Workers, Educators, Citizen Action/Illinois To Hold Tax Day Roundtable And Rally to Call for Tax Fairness and No Cuts to Essential Services
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Josh Schrader
josh@citizenaction-il.org
Community leaders unanimously called for Congress to prioritize people over profits and maintain essential services that support Southern Illinois's most vulnerable residents.
MARION, IL – Discussions between the two events on Tax Day featured personal stories and local perspectives on how proposed federal budget cuts would impact essential services like healthcare, education, nutrition assistance, and housing. Additionally, advocates provided perspective into the day-to-day consequences these cuts would have on families, workers, and service providers across Southern Illinois while also presenting a unified call to Illinois Republican Housemembers Bost, LaHood, and Miller to reject harmful budget proposals and instead invest in programs that uplift communities and put people over profits.
Amber Bridgman, TASC Administrator in Southern Illinois, stated plainly, "Any cuts to Medicaid will be devastating. If we cannot connect our clients to the services they need, they're likely to end up dead, in prison, or homeless. Rural communities would be most severely impacted by service reductions.”
Kelli Willis from Head Start emphasized the human cost of federal cuts that could impact children, "These aren't hypothetical tragic stories. These are the real lives of our constituents. Children cannot actively engage in learning before their needs for basic safety, comfort, and love are met. Federal budget cuts to education programs and Head Start are alarming and Congress must stop and think about who they are truly impacting.”
Carmelita Cahill and Teneshkia Wright of the Carbondale Warming Center offered a stark warning that these cuts could have on low income and homeless individuals in Southern Illinois: "Five years of homelessness takes 35 years off your life. We're losing contributions to society, to medical science, to every facet of our communities, and most importantly we're losing each other. We are all one traumatic life-changing event away from needing government assistance. Just think if it was you or your family - what would you need?"
Community leaders unanimously called for Congress, and Rep. Bost, Rep. LaHood, and Rep. Miller of Illinois to prioritize people over profits and maintain essential services that support Illinois's most vulnerable residents.
"We're supposed to be a government of the people, for the people, and it just seems like they've lost touch with that," said Willard Bradley (Brad), a U.S. Postal Worker. "It seems like they want to take care of the more wealthy people and not worry about anything below that."
Retired SIU Professor and local advocate, Les Lloyd, spoke at the rally at the Civic Center in Carbondale. “Last week, I traveled all the way to Washington D.C. as a part of the larger fight to tell Illinois House Republicans – including my representative, Mike Bost – to reject cuts to essential services. I wasn’t heard and Rep. Bost wasn’t willing to meet with me. I make calls daily to Mike Bost’s office and will continue doing so because this issue is too important and he refuses to meet with his constituents.”
A fact sheet with specific budget cut numbers and the impacts of the cuts can be found here.
Anusha Thotakura, Executive Director of Citizen Action/Illinois concluded, “It’s Tax Day and I think about the symbolism this has as Congress attempts to give billionaires tax cuts while leaving everyday Illinoisans out to dry. Our voices must be heard and until Representatives Bost, LaHood, and Miller meet with their constituents and vow to protect Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP, other essential services, and reject these tax breaks for the billionaire class, we won’t go quiet.”
Citizen Action/Illinois is the state’s largest public progressive interest organization, dedicated to advocating for healthcare access, economic justice, and consumer rights. Through grassroots organizing and coalition-building, we work to ensure policies that protect Illinois families, seniors, and communities.
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For Media Inquiries:
Contact
Josh Schrader
Citizen Action/Illinois
(402) 860-0689
josh@citizenaction-il.org