“Illinois can be an example of democracy for the people and a beacon of hope for the rest of the country,” said The People’s Lobby (TPL) member Hannah Peterson, as she helped rally more than 250 members of TPL, ONE Northside (ONS) and allies from the Illinois Revenue Alliance outside Tesla’s Chicago facilities, to protest the deep cuts to essential government services and agencies being promoted by President Trump and Elon Musk.
TPL and ONS were joined at the rally by members and speakers from SEIU HCII, ICIRR, JCUA, and elected officials including Illinois State Representatives Will Davis and Teresa Mah, and State Senators Robert Peters and Graciela Guzman.
With help from the Illinois Revenue Alliance, Rep. Davis and Senator Karina Villa have introduced progressive tax initiatives, including a new tax on digital advertising, which can raise as much as $6 billion per year to help make up, in part, for the anticipated collapse of federal funding for essential services in states.
“We need to pass a progressive revenue package that includes funding for our public transit systems in order to create the world-class transit system that Chicago deserves,” said TPL environmental justice task force chair Lina Avalos at the rally.
TPL and ONS members were back in the streets to protest these cuts on May Day, along with dozens of other People’s Action member groups across the country, including the Maine People’s Alliance in Bangor, Citizen Action of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, OneAmerica in Seattle, in Colorado with the Center for Health Progress and in California with San Francisco Rising.
