A Chicago-area congressman traveled to East St. Louis on Saturday to meet with Black leaders who shared their concerns about cuts to federal programs by President Donald Trump’s administration.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing the 8th Congressional District, told them to expect reductions in Medicaid benefits and Social Security services to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy if the president and billionaire Elon Musk have their way.
Krishnamoorthi focused heavily on Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump initiative to reduce spending and modernize technology. He said Musk is “using a chainsaw” to haphazardly eliminate programs and staff instead of taking a reasoned approach to reform.
“He’s unelected,” Krishnamoorthi said. “He’s unaccountable. He hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate. He hasn’t been vetted. He hasn’t even filed a public-disclosure form on his conflicts of interest. He has, I think, 19 federal contracts, by the way, totaling billions of dollars. I guarantee you none of those contracts are going to be touched by DOGE.”
Krishnamoorthi said citizens should “pull together” to oppose what’s going on and reach out to their members of Congress.
The meeting Saturday also allowed Krishnamoorthi to get acquainted with southeastern Illinois and some of its political leaders at a time when U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who has represented Illinois since 1997, is contemplating whether to run for a sixth term in 2026.
Durbin, 80, told news organizations last fall that he would make a decision “after the first of the year.” St. Louis Public Radio has reported that potential candidates include nearly every statewide elected official and about half of the 14 Democrat U.S. representatives from Illinois.
Is Krishnamoorthi one of them?
“There’s no vacancy,” he said, smiling, when asked if his visit Saturday was laying the groundwork for a Senate campaign.
Krishnamoorthi met with three Metro East Democrats: Illinois Sen. Christopher Belt, who represents the 57th district; East St. Louis City Manager Robert Betts and East St. Louis Township Supervisor Ricky Easton at the Clyde C. Jordan Senior Citizen Center in East St. Louis.
Krishnamoorthi told them that planned layoffs and closures of some Social Security Administration service centers would essentially reduce benefits because people who have problems signing up or getting checks wouldn’t have places to seek help in person.
Belt worried aloud that other cuts to Social Security could include raising the eligibility age for benefits, which he said would be devastating for older people in poor health and unable to work.
“This has put a lot of stress on the seniors that I’ve heard from,” said Easton, whose township operates the Jordan center.
A U.S. House of Representatives budget resolution, passed in February by the Republican majority, would allow a $4.5 trillion increase in the federal deficit from Trump tax cuts if spending were reduced by $2 trillion. Krishnamoorthi said this can’t be done without reversing Medicaid expansion made possible by the Affordable Care Act.
Medicaid is a federal entitlement program that provides health insurance to low-income individuals and families. More than 72 million people were enrolled in October 2024, according to Medicaid.gov.
Trump has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t plan to cut Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security benefits, only to reduce waste and fraud.
Betts used his time at Saturday’s meeting to give Krishnamoorthi information on the history of East St. Louis and its plans for economic development. He said one of his main concerns is affordable housing, noting that homes once selling for $150,000 are now listed at $300,000.
“East St. Louis is a land of opportunity,” Betts said. “We just need to look at it that way.”
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Teri Maddox is a reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
