See who Illinois Democrats invited to President Trump's joint address to Congress
Some Illinois Democrats have invited fired federal workers to President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, to protest the Trump administration's sweeping cuts to the federal government.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, who represents several northern and northwestern suburbs near Chicago, invited Army veteran Adam Mulvey, who was fired as an emergency management specialist at Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, which serves veterans and active-duty personnel
Mulvey said he received an email notifying him his position was being eliminated on Feb. 13. According to Schneider's office, Mulvey was one of approximately 6,000 veterans who lost their jobs last month as part of efforts by Mr. Trump's Department of Government Efficiency to slash the federal workforce. Known as DOGE, the White House task force is being led by billionaire senior adviser Elon Musk.
"To be terminated and to then be told that my firing was due to performance is insulting – I, like the majority of the terminated civil servants, had received outstanding evaluations," Mulvey said in a statement provided by Schneider's office. "I greatly appreciate Rep. Schneider for helping to put names and faces to these illegal terminations. Those let go from federal service are your neighbors, friends and relatives. They deserve better treatment from their government. I deserve better as well."
Last week, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled the mass firings of probationary employees like Mulvey were likely illegal.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, who represents a district stretching from Rockford to Peoria to Bloomington, invited James Diaz, a disabled veteran who was laid off in February as a fuel compliance officer at the Internal Revenue Service.
Diaz has said he voted for Mr. Trump three times, and supports many of his policies, but has been disappointed in how federal workers, especially veterans, have been treated during the president's overhaul of the government.
"I've given my life to this country, and to be laid off without warning or respect is disheartening," Diaz said in a statement provided by Sorensen's office. "My notice of termination cited performance, and I know my performance was documented as excellent, yet we were treated like garbage. I understand the need to trim the fat, but you can't treat people this way."
In an interview with CNN, Diaz said all of his performance reviews before he was fired were positive before he was fired on Feb. 25. He said the email notifying him he was being fired came across as "cookie cutter" language.
"I don't think they thought it through very well at all, and I think I'm a perfect example of why they didn't think it through," he said. "It didn't make me feel very good. I mean, I put myself in harm's way for the country. I took a pretty good pay cut to come work for the government, and next thing you know, eight months later, I was basically feel like I'm not good enough. Now, I know better than that, but that's just how it seems to feel."
Some other Illinois Democrats in Congress are finding other ways to protest Mr. Trump's policies, including his bid to freeze federal assistance programs and his executive order ending federal support for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has invited Illinois Head Start Association Executive Director Lauri Morrison-Frichtl to underscore how Trump's funding freeze is hurting early childhood education programs.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from freezing federal assistance for programs like Head Start, but many such programs said they are still not receiving federal funds.
"I've seen firsthand the transformative power of Head Start in creating safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive and in empowering parents to pursue meaningful employment across the great state of Illinois. However, recent disruptions and uncertainties around federal funding have created significant anxiety and stress among our parents, staff, and communities across Illinois," Morrison-Frichtl said in a statement provided by Duckworth's office.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has invited Dr. Elizabeth Sokol, a pediatric oncologist and researcher at Lurie Children's Hospital, to protest Mr. Trump's efforts to drastically cut funding for the National Institutes for Health.
"This is one of the agencies – the National Institutes of Health – that President Trump is dismantling through a series of abrupt, illegal, devastating funding cuts, gag orders, and mass firings. As a result of President Trump's actions, Dr. Sokol's work on neuroblastoma in kids… and the lives of the kids who depend on it, is in serious danger," Durbin said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson – whose district spans parts of the South Side of Chicago and several south and southwestern suburbs – has invited Dr. Sonja Feist-Price, provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs of Chicago State University, who he said is a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that have come under threat from the Trump administration.
"Now more than ever, we must stand up for academic freedom and equal opportunity for all," Jackson said.
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski – whose Central Illinois district includes Springfield, Champaign, and East St. Louis – has invited special education teacher Lisa Quandt, saying her work is proof of the need to protect the Department of Education from Mr. Trump's promises to shut it down.
The president's vow to wind down the Department of Education has raised concerns about what it would mean for funding for special education programs nationwide.
Meantime, two members of Congress from Illinois said they won't be attending the president's address. U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky both said they will be boycotting the president's speech.
"Donald Trump has set flame to every democratic norm and principle of our government. I cannot in good conscience adhere to the norm of attending his joint address," Quigley wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Schakowsky said she expects Mr. Trump's speech to be little more than a "MAGA love fest" and a "series of lies to the American people."
"We are living in unprecedented times. We have a President of the United States who thinks he has unilateral power and is breaking our laws and violating our constitution day in and day out. This is not business as usual and I refuse to normalize his egregious language and behavior," Schakowksy said in a statement.
