How the big, ugly bill puts Illinois students at risk

One of the biggest losses anticipated as part of the big, ugly tax reconciliation bill making its way through Congress is to Medicaid, and people across the country have been pushing back against cuts to this crucial program that supports so many vulnerable people. In Illinois, constituents got loud outside U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood’s office.

Leah Krippner, a librarian at Harlem High School in Machesney Park, Ill., and first vice president of the Harlem Federation of Teachers, was one of them. She sees firsthand what would happen to her students if Medicaid were cut—they’d have to go without the equipment they rely on to attend school, much less excel in school.

Currently, Medicaid helps pay for transportation for kids who use wheelchairs, she says. It helps cover the cost of communication devices for nonverbal kids, therapy for trauma, asthma management and more. “Cutting Medicaid puts those students at risk,” says Krippner. “Our kids deserve better.”

LaHood, who voted “yea” for the first version of the reconciliation bill, called the protest a “political stunt” and sent aides out to turn dozens of protesters away from his door. Undeterred, they took up space outside and delivered 2,500 petition signatures to oppose cruel and devastating cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Krippner pointed out that if Illinois loses this federal funding, the state will have to either take money from other vital programs or discontinue critical Medicaid and SNAP services. And for what? Tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, says Krippner, calling them misplaced priorities that sacrifice the health of children for billionaires.

Another protester, Crystal Barry, a member of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois and Indiana  said that if Medicaid funding is cut she would be unable to pay for the asthma treatments her child needs. And Pastor Violet Johnicker, who also participated in the protest, asked LaHood directly: “How can you claim your faith impacts your policy while harming the poor to benefit the wealthy?”

The reconciliation bill is currently being considered by the Senate; after the Senate votes, the House will consider changes the Senate made before the bill goes to President Donald Trump for a final signature.

[Virginia Myers]