14-State National Campaign Comes to Illinois to Highlight Harmful Impacts of the Budget + Tax Bill That Congress is Trying to Pass by July 4th

CHICAGO (June 28, 2025) – Today, Fair Share America, Unrig our Economy, and Citizen Action IL brought the “Stop the Billionaire Giveaway” national bus tour to Chicago. Local leaders, policy advocates, artists, and community members came together to highlight the devastating impact that the federal budget and tax proposals moving through Congress will have on Illinois’ families, communities and economy. The Senate is expected to begin votes on the bill as early as tonight.

The 45-foot tour bus, wrapped in a giant trillion-dollar bill, is making 2 stops in Illinois calling on US Senators and Members of Congress to reject any budget bill that cuts Medicaid and SNAP in order to fund over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the wealthy.

As part of the Chicago event at the Hyde Park Art Center, local spoken word artists Toussaint Daniels, Terrence Barrow, and Orion Meadowsperformed original pieces reflecting on inequality and the lived experience of disinvestment. Their performances grounded the policy conversation on Congress’ misplaced budget and tax priorities in lived truth and resilience.

KEY MOMENTS:

Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Fair Share America, underscored the scale of what’s at stake in lawmakers choosing to put billionaires over working families:

“We all have something to offer this fight — we are the ones that we've been waiting for. No one is coming to save us. This is our fight. This is our moment. And never again will we let the billionaires hijack our politics and our hope and our money to benefit themselves. That is my promise. Fair Share America is fighting to reimagine politics so that our leaders serve us, center us, and so policy is based on our stories, our hopes, our visions – not on the size of your bank account or donation check.”

“This is the most egregious, immoral wealth transfer we have ever seen—from poor and working-class families straight into the pockets of billionaires. If the richest Americans simply paid what the rest of us pay, we could fund healthcare, food, housing, and dignity for all. Instead, Congress is pushing a bill that would kick 16 million people off Medicaid and cut food assistance for millions more. We cannot let them get away with it.”

State Senator Robert Peters, Illinois District 13, rooted his remarks in personal experience and conveyed urgency:

“This giveaway to billionaires is not something brand new—they’ve been at war with working people for decades. I was born in a community hospital that’s now a luxury condo. My mother died with $300,000 in housing debt after the Great Recession. Meanwhile, billionaires like Jeff Bezos throw yacht weddings while we’re begging for grocery stores and hospitals to stay open. We need to organize and fight back. We must build a multiracial, multigenerational working-class country that gives people what they need: housing, jobs, education, dignity, and hope.”

Anusha Thotakura, Executive Director of Citizen Action IL, focused on the bigger picture for families:

“Congress is moving forward a budget reconciliation bill that is going to take away health care and housing from millions of Americans just to fund tax breaks for billionaires. And we have been working with our partners for the past several months, to do everything that we can to stop that. But the problem is much larger than just any one bill or anything that we can solve in the coming months, we have a system of disinvestment in our own communities, in our public services, from Head Start, education to health care, housing, food, all the basic necessities that people need to be successful and thrive.”

Jeremy Rosen, Director of Economic Justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, spoke about Illinois' ability to lead on this issue:

“We keep hearing that there's no money for housing, for healthcare, for education. But Illinois is home to some of the richest people and corporations in the world. The money is here. We could have the resources to invest in our communities—we just need the political will to tax the rich and stop pretending billionaires can’t afford to pay their fair share. We must fight both in DC and right here in Springfield.”

Reverend Charles Straight, a retired United Methodist pastor and organizer with the People’s Lobby, delivered a powerful faith-based condemnation of the bill:

“Every faith teaches us to love our neighbor. Yet this budget turns its back on the poor and lifts the rich. That’s not faith—that’s hypocrisy. And even for the non-religious, the Golden Rule is clear: treat others how you’d want to be treated. This budget fails that test. We must resist not just as voters, but as moral beings.”

** The full swing through Illinois includes two stops:

Saturday, June 28

• 11AM - Hyde Park Arts Center in Chicago

• 3PM - Levings Park in Rockford