Pritzker calls proposed cuts to Social Security ‘irresponsible,’ ‘cruel’ and ‘chaotic’ in Will County stop

Romeoville — Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton continued their “Standing Up for Illinois” statewide tour Thursday with a stop in Romeoville alongside U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and advocates from Will County senior and disability organizations.

Speaking at the Ovation senior community center operated by Senior Services of Will County, Pritzker and Stratton leveled sharp criticism of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency for proposed cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

“It’s irresponsible, it’s cruel and it’s chaotic,” Pritzker said. “Social Security is built on our shared responsibility to protect one another, to care for the generations that came before us, as well as the generations that will come after us. ”

Musk has called Social Security, a program created in 1935 in reaction to the Great Depression, “the greatest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

The Trump administration announced plans on March 13 to eliminate the ability for the Social Security Administration to handle claims by phone, requiring recipients to do business online or make in-person appointments at field offices when they need assistance with claims.

Simultaneously, DOGE also has announced plans to shutter offices and lay off SSA employees as what Musk calls a cost-cutting measure.

Critics of the plan have pointed out that requiring in-person meetings to handle claims and verify recipients' identities will overload an already strapped system and place an extra burden on elderly and disabled individuals, who make up the majority of Social Security recipients.

“What Elon and President Trump are trying to disguise as operational changes will directly affect the way seniors, people with disabilities and others in our communities access their most basic needs,” Stratton said.

Trump and Musk are breaking a “sacred promise” with the American people that “your hard work will be rewarded with dignity and respect when you retire and if you become disabled,” Pritzker said.

“They’re gutting the Social Security Administration, firing staff and closing offices across the nation. I’d call it idiotic if I didn’t suspect that this was actually part of a plan to throw people off of Social Security,” he said.

People can expect longer wait times for assistance with their benefits, improper denials of claims and delayed or missed benefit checks, he said.

The governor said more than 2 million Illinois residents rely on Social Security, and 3 million use Medicaid.

“If they cut what I think they will cut, which is the Medicaid expansion that was implemented under the Affordable Care Act, that’s about $7.5 billion annually,” Pritzker said when asked how the state’s plans to combat potential cuts.

Our No. 1 priority now is to fight to keep these programs from going away, because they are easier to defend than to get back.”

—  Gov. JB Pritzker

The state could work to boost funding for free clinics, but some critical access hospitals in the inner city and rural areas would be forced to close, he said.

“We would provide as much money as we can, but what we have is not enough,” Pritzker said. “I am deeply concerned. This is devastating. If we don’t speak up now, people will die.”

Pritzker said that this problem would only be exacerbated if plans to eliminate the Department of Education and its funding to the states were implemented, something Trump was expected to do Thursday after the governor finished speaking.

On top of the $7.5 billion the state receives in Medicaid funding, an additional $3.5 billion comes in each year to fund school programs, including initiatives to support low-income students and special education.

“Education should be one of our top priorities,” Pritzker said. “But we can’t replace that funding, especially on top of the $7 billion to $8 billion we’d need to make up in Medicaid. We’ll be in dire straits.”

Pritzker called on the public to speak out against the cuts and actions being taken by the Trump administration by protesting and by calling and writing to members of Congress.

“We can’t control what the federal government does,” he said of the state government. “We can only react. Our No. 1 priority now is to fight to keep these programs from going away, because they are easier to defend than to get back.”

Underwood, D-Naperville, said that if the Democrats in the House of Representatives stand united against Republican initiatives, it would not take many GOP defectors to halt the bills' progress due to the small margin the majority has in the chamber.

“We only need three,” she said, before pointing out there are three Republican representatives from Illinois, at least three Republican representatives from districts that voted for Kamala Harris in November, and three upcoming Republican vacancies in the House.

“I’m not telling you which three to pick, which three Republicans to reach out to, but the key is to channel our advocacy right now in a way that will protect our values and protect these vital services and programs that our families are counting on,” she said.

“Standing up for Social Security is not just right – it’s in our own best interest, and this fight is for all of our futures,” Stratton said.

Thursday’s appearance in Romeoville was the second stop of Pritzker’s Standing Up for Illinois tour, aimed at highlighting the impact that the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts could have on Illinois residents.