ICYMI: Gov. Pritzker’s Standing Up for Illinois Tour

CHICAGO- ​ Last week, Governor Pritzker joined Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, agency directors, and advocates in cities across Illinois to shed light on how the Trump Administration’s extreme agenda is hurting working families, farmers, veterans, seniors, and other Illinoisans. The tour showed the harmful impacts on people when Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in Congress take a chainsaw to healthcare, childcare, infrastructure, Social Security, and other critical services that help working families– all to give a tax break to their wealthy friends.

Governor Pritzker showcased how strong, responsible fiscal leadership has enabled Illinois to achieve balanced budgets and economic growth while supporting working families.

Throughout the week, Governor Pritzker highlighted the ways he is standing up for…

FARMERS

The first stop of the Standing Up for Illinois Tour brought Governor Pritzker to Urbana-Champaign with Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, and local agricultural leaders to discuss how cuts to critical services and resources for Illinois farms.

The event called attention to various USDA programs that have been or could be affected, including food purchase assistance for schools and conservation programs. Participants additionally noted agriculture as a central driver of the Illinois economy, with 71,000 farms that produce $26 billion in agricultural products every year.

Governor Pritzker also visited the University of Illinois’ National Soybean Research Laboratory, which the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is forcing closed next month and laying off workers. The lab is at the forefront of making resources that enable Illinois, the U.S., and the world to drive economic growth with soybean information, technology, and tools.

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SOCIAL SECURITY

The second stop of the Standing Up for Illinois Tour brought Governor Pritzker to Romeoville, IL, where he joined Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Illinois Department on Aging Director Mary Killough at a local senior center. The event called attention to the Trump Administration’s attacks on the federal Social Security Administration (SSA), including site closures, support service cuts, and mass layoffs, which will limit access to Social Security benefits for the two million Illinoisans who rely on this support.

These measures will cause diminished services, and potentially lead to lost benefits for vulnerable Illinoisans who rely on these resources that enable them to buy groceries, pay rent and lead independent lives.

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INFRASTRUCTURE

The third stop of the Standing Up for Illinois Tour brought Governor Pritzker to Rockford, IL alongside Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Acting Secretary Gia Biagi and local leaders to celebrate the ongoing construction of the Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) expansion project. The RMTD was awarded a total of $39.4 million from the Illinois Department of Transportation for the project as part of the Rebuild Illinois Capital Grant Program.

The event highlighted the benefit of State investments as the Trump Administration is withholding federal grants Illinois is owed and stalling the multiple projects to improve taxpayers’ roads, transit, bridges, and rail lines. Currently, the Trump Administration has blocked Illinois from accessing $826.4 million in federal infrastructure funds allocated by Congress.

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MEDICAID

The fourth stop of the Standing Up for Illinois Tour brought Governor Pritzker to Peoria, where he attended a community meeting in which Care Can’t Wait, local advocates, providers, and patients shared their stories on the importance of protecting Medicaid and the negative impact cuts would have on their lives.

One in four Illinoisans, over 3.4 million people, receive healthcare coverage through Medicaid and are at risk of losing access or seeing their premiums increase under proposed Republican cuts. This includes coverage for nearly half the state’s children and many people with disabilities and those living in senior or long-term care facilities.

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