Illinois democratic leaders are bracing for the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” after it was signed into law over the weekend.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Congressman Sean Casten weighing in on the cuts in the bill that they say is going to impact working families and their access to healthcare and benefits, like Medicaid and SNAP.
Casten, who represents Illinois 6th Congressional District told NBC Chicago his office has been busy fielding calls from constituents concerned about what to do next.
“People are afraid as they should be,” Casten said. “People are going to die, life expectancy is going to fall, people are going to go hungry, (and) hospitals are going to shut down, all so Donald trump can pay less in taxes.”
Coupled with cuts to policies covered under the Affordable Care Act, and up to 11 million people could lose health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
According to estimates, up to 330,000 Illinois residents could lose healthcare coverage under cuts to Medicaid and the ACA.
In addition, work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients could cause more than three million Americans to lose those benefits, another source of criticism for Democrats.
Johnson voiced his opposition against the bill saying it takes from the poor to give to the rich.
“This bill is the deepest rollback on Medicaid in the history of our country,” said Mayor Johnson. “Our state could lose almost $50 billion over the next decades in Medicaid cuts alone roughly a million Chicagoans rely on Medicaid half of which are children.”
Republicans have indicated that they plan to campaign on individual pieces of the bill that are popular with Americans, including provisions that slash taxes on overtime and tips, along with additional childcare subsidies.
Trump praised the bill extensively, arguing that it strengthens Medicaid by eliminating waste and fraud. He also defended work requirements for SNAP benefits, arguing the program needs to re-focus on helping those in need.
Democrats argue those cuts are being used to finance large-scale tax cuts that disproportionally affect the wealthy, and that doesn’t sit well with officials like Johnson.
“Economists and analysts all agree this bill essentially represents the largest upward transfer of wealth in our nation’s history,” he said. “This bill literally takes from the poor to give to the rich.”
Rep. Raja Krishanamoorthi, along with members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois to talk about the impact the bill will have on families they serve.
“They are going to appropriate $45 billion to quadruple ICE detention capacity, and this is for an agency that’s already using excessive force and detain U.S. citizens for God’s sake,” Krishnamoorthi said.
The ACLU of Illinois said it’s working to create a firewall of protection around civil liberties and fear the ramifications of the new legislation on immigrant communities and on clients.
“It’s essentially putting a price tag on due process often times people who are seeking asylum are of the poorest of the poor they literally walked across the border just so their children are not persecuted,” said Michelle Garcia, ACLU of Illinois Deputy Legal Director.
Johnson said his team will do a budget analysis to assess the impact of the bill on the city.
