Hundreds protest Social Security cuts at Waukegan office: ‘Stop this injustice to widows and children'
Demonstrators were unhappy about potential changes by the federal government, which could reduce the quality of services at the Social Security office and on the phone. They voiced their concerns with chants of 'hands off Social Security' aimed at President Donald Trump.
Jane Ferry of Waukegan, who collects Social Security benefits, said her contribution to the program was deducted from every paycheck she received during her working life. It is now part of the income she uses to support her lifestyle.
'All I know is, I don't want it to be cut,' Ferry said.
Charlotte Callahan Wozniak, a former member of the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education and part of a longstanding local printing business, said the money comes from employer contributions too, not just from the government.
'North Shore Printers has always matched the employee contributions,' Wozniak said. 'We're been around since 1933,' she added, pointing out the company started shortly before the Social Security Act became law.
Ferry and Wozniak were among the more than 500 people demonstrating against cutbacks in services offered by Social Security and the fear of cuts in the program Saturday in front of the Social Security Administration Office in Waukegan.
Demonstrators, many of them senior citizens, lined Lewis Avenue holding signs and chanting phrases in protest of the cutback of government services coming from executive orders. They also criticized Elon Musk's cost-cutting as part of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Unlike other recent anti-Trump administration protests in Lake County, where the demonstrations consisted of chants and signs, this time there were speeches in an adjoining parking lot from union representatives, organizers and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park.
Schneider emphasized that Social Security is an earned benefit. He said it not only provides a safety net for retired seniors who worked their entire lives, but also for children, widows, spouses and disabled workers.
In the 10th Congressional District he represents, Schneider said $262 million in monthly benefits are distributed. The payments go to 101,668 retirees, 5,468 children, 6,788 widows, 4,486 spouses and 9,629 disabled workers.
'Donald Trump and Elon Musk do not need to be collecting this,' Schneider said. 'Keep up this fight. Tell them to stop this injustice to widows and children. When you do that, we can make a difference.'
Mark Shaw, the Republican state central committeeman for the 10th Congressional District, said neither Trump nor the Republican majority in Congress has proposed reducing Social Security benefits. He conceded that procedures are being modified.
'I believe people should get what they bargained for,' Shaw said. 'However, we do need to increase the efficiency in the way those benefits are received. Donald Trump said he is going to bring efficiency to the federal government. I don't see how anyone could disagree with that.'
While Schneider realizes the ability of the Democratic minority to impact the changes Trump is trying to implement is limited, he said after the meeting, he plans to push for what he can as part of the Committee on Ways and Means.
'We'll keep emphasizing the numbers don't work,' Schneider said. 'The Democrats will work in committee to highlight what the Republicans are doing. They're taking money away from hardworking families.'
David McDowell of Waukegan, one of the organizers of the demonstration, said he was at the office recently and received good service applying for Medicare Part B coverage. He is on Medicare and receives Social Security payments. He pointed out he had earned them.
'Those things were a promise made to me the minute I started to pay into FICA and Medicare in 1978,' McDowell said. 'I had a small issue with my signup and I couldn't find it online. It was a huge help to have an office to come to.'
While there, McDowell said he saw other workers in the office helping individuals needing help with forms and other problems. They all seemed to be getting the assistance they needed. Others had issues more complex than his.
Jill Hornick, an American Federal Government Employees official, who directs all Social Security offices in Illinois, said layoffs are likely coming because not enough people took voluntary buyouts.
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Palantir's revenue topped $1 billion in a quarter for the first time as the company dodged government contract spending cuts and reported beat-and-raise results. Year to date, Palantir stock is up 112%. Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports: Read more here. Palantir (PLTR) stock climbed 7% higher in premarket trading on Tuesday following the AI software company's blowout second quarter earnings report on Monday afternoon. Palantir's revenue topped $1 billion in a quarter for the first time as the company dodged government contract spending cuts and reported beat-and-raise results. Year to date, Palantir stock is up 112%. Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports: Read more here. Wall Street 2025 bonuses: Winners and losers so far Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports: Read more here. Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports: Read more here. Good morning. Here's what's happening today. Economic data: S&P Global US Services PMI (July final) S&P Global US Composite, (July final); ISM services index (July) Earnings: AMD (AMD), BP (BP), Caterpillar (CAT), Duke Energy (DUK), Lucid Group (LCID), Opendoor (OPEN), Pfizer (PFE), Rivian (RIVN), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Snap (SNAP), Upstart (UPST) Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning: One key reason a slowing economy isn't shaking stock market bulls Wall Street 2025 bonuses: Winners and losers so far Big Tech is power-hungry, and America's aging grid can't keep up Pfizer beats in Q2 earnings, reaffirms 2025 outlook Trump's Fed pick could face resistance from colleagues on rates Intel struggles with key manufacturing process for next chip EU says it expects turbulence in trade relations with US Jefferies sees crowded trade in Big Tech as Fed nears rate cuts US rig decline outpaces efficiency, threatening oil output Autopilot verdict deals Tesla a 'black eye' Economic data: S&P Global US Services PMI (July final) S&P Global US Composite, (July final); ISM services index (July) Earnings: AMD (AMD), BP (BP), Caterpillar (CAT), Duke Energy (DUK), Lucid Group (LCID), Opendoor (OPEN), Pfizer (PFE), Rivian (RIVN), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Snap (SNAP), Upstart (UPST) Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning: One key reason a slowing economy isn't shaking stock market bulls Wall Street 2025 bonuses: Winners and losers so far Big Tech is power-hungry, and America's aging grid can't keep up Pfizer beats in Q2 earnings, reaffirms 2025 outlook Trump's Fed pick could face resistance from colleagues on rates Intel struggles with key manufacturing process for next chip EU says it expects turbulence in trade relations with US Jefferies sees crowded trade in Big Tech as Fed nears rate cuts US rig decline outpaces efficiency, threatening oil output Autopilot verdict deals Tesla a 'black eye' Pfizer stock rises after beating Q2 earnings, reaffirming 2025 outlook Pfizer (PFE) stock rose 2% in premarket trading Tuesday after beating quarterly estimates on the top and bottom lines. The company posted earnings per share of $0.78, versus estimates of $0.58 per share, on revenue of $14.7 billion, compared to Wall Street expectations of $13.5 billion. Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani reports: Read more here. Pfizer (PFE) stock rose 2% in premarket trading Tuesday after beating quarterly estimates on the top and bottom lines. The company posted earnings per share of $0.78, versus estimates of $0.58 per share, on revenue of $14.7 billion, compared to Wall Street expectations of $13.5 billion. Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani reports: Read more here. One key reason a slowing economy isn't shaking stock market bulls Yahoo finance's senior reporter Josh Schafer looks at why softening economic data may not be as important for stocks as AI: Read more here. Yahoo finance's senior reporter Josh Schafer looks at why softening economic data may not be as important for stocks as AI: Read more here. Nvidia partner Hon Hai's July sales growth weakened by tariffs Nvidia's (NVDA) main server assembly partner Hon Hai Precision ( saw its Taiwan stock close 2% higher on Tuesday despite reporting a sales slowdown for July. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Nvidia's (NVDA) main server assembly partner Hon Hai Precision ( saw its Taiwan stock close 2% higher on Tuesday despite reporting a sales slowdown for July. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Oil flattened from multi-day drop after Trump's India rebuke Oil prices steadied from a three-day decline following a ramping up of threats from Trump to India over the Asian nation's continued use of Russian crude. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Oil prices steadied from a three-day decline following a ramping up of threats from Trump to India over the Asian nation's continued use of Russian crude. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. 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Rachel Maddow Is Not Mincing Words When It Comes To The "Authoritarian" Nature Of The Trump Administration
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow says Americans no longer have to fear potential authoritarianism in their own country, because 'we are there' already — and cited President Donald Trump's widespread immigration raids, detainments without probable cause, and use of military force. 'We have crossed a line,' she said on The Rachel Maddow Show, Monday. 'We are in a place we did not want to be, but we are there. The thing we were all warning about for the last few years is not coming, it is here. We are in it. This is what [it's] like, it turns out.' Maddow argued that large swaths of the country might easily overlook this downward slide, as movies are still being produced, sports continue to be played, and families are still discussing the same old issues they always have around their kitchen table each night. 'But also, at the same time, life in the United States is profoundly changing,' Maddow added Monday. 'It's profoundly different than it was even six months ago, because we do now live in a country that has an authoritarian leader in charge.' Related: She then put it even more bluntly: 'We have a consolidating dictatorship in our country.' While the MSNBC host went on to acknowledge that this might sound 'melodramatic,' Maddow noted the US now seems to have its own 'secret police,' which is commonplace across dictatorships, in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency under Trump. 'A massive, anonymous, unbadged — literally masked — totally unaccountable internal police force that apparently has infinite funding but no identifiable leadership,' said Maddow. 'And they act in ways designed to instill maximum fear and use maximum force.' Related: Maddow continued: 'I mean, when you imagine an authoritarian country, what you imagine is masked secret police breaking people's car windows and snatching people off the streets and out of church parking lots and courtroom hallways and taking them away with no charges, no notice, no paperwork, no explanation, not letting them see lawyers and then moving them secretly to what are effectively black site prisons where they won't tell you who's there and where no one's allowed in to see what's going on.' Experts have already warned that one such prison, Florida's immigrant detention camp that Republicans have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' is 'a human rights disaster waiting to happen.' Democratic lawmakers initially blocked from visiting were finally granted access last month and confirmed its horrid conditions. Related: The president has justified nationwide crackdowns on undocumented workers, as well as the detainment, arrest, and deportation of college students and professors across the US, as necessary protection against supposedly violent and anti-American immigrants. Maddow argued it won't stop there, however, and that the US military in multiple states has already 'extended the legal boundaries of nearby military bases' by hundreds of miles 'so they can give active duty US troops the power to arrest and search people on US soil.' 'We are not heading toward something like this,' Maddow said Monday. 'We are there. It is here. It is the environment in which we are now living. And so, given that you now live in a country with an authoritarian leader, the question is: What can you do for your country?' Related: Watch the full monologue here: This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
