Trump, DOGE, and Illinois

Making Sense of this Mess

As the weeks have gone by since Donald Trump’s 2nd inauguration, we are left in a state of shock and chaos. Erratic, illegal, and oftentimes completely insane executive orders have been issued forth by this mad king. It is a Constitutional crisis. Article 1 powers of Congress are being usurped, with our President in effect wielding a line-item veto and seizing the power of the purse. By unilaterally cancelling spending already appropriated by Congress, by unilaterally shutting down departments and programs authorized by Congress; Trump is attacking the foundations of American government. Make no mistake, this is an existential crisis for our Republic.

This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the State of Illinois. Nearly 15% of the State’s operating budget comes from the federal government, that’s $18.5 billion! Illinois is in a precariously tight budget year this year, federal spending cuts will only spell disaster. Additionally, the State and the City of Chicago are being sued by the federal government for its Sanctuary laws. Given the actions of the Trump administration elsewhere, exacting retribution is the only thing I can expect from them.

What does this mean for Illinois and you? Why are they doing this? What is their end goal? All questions I will try and answer by the end of the article.

How This Impacts Illinois

The impacts on Illinois were immediate. For a short period, States were locked out of the Medicaid’s federal payments portal, including Illinois. A prelude to the massive Medicaid cuts being proposed by the Republican majority? As previously stated, the federal government is the single largest employer in the State. Cuts to the federal workforce will harm Illinois’ already laggard labor market. What is especially outrageous about all these cuts is how deeply asshole boss it all screams. Elon Musk’s various enterprises had long been dogged by both legal investigations into workplace abuse and horror stories from ex-employees of brutally long hours and capricious, vicious management. Given the leaks, social media comments, and testimony from fired employees; Musk is simply recreating this toxic management style over the entire federal government.

An underdiscussed story in all of this is how Musk is using the federal government to smash his electric car rivals. Rivian, who has an enormous plant in my home town employing nearly 9,000 people, including members of my family, has had a $6.6 billion loan “put on hold” by the Trump administration. This is all coming at the same time the company is finally posting a profit. This is obvious to anyone who isn’t an idiot: Musk is using the government to quash rivals and make more money. Illinois is the home to many electric vehicle plants, battery plants, and related manufacturers. Trump’s numerous attacks on the EV industry will mean that both the private and public sector are losing jobs. Again, I truly believe they are steering the country to a recession to get interest rates lowered and discipline workers into accepting less. The right wing Silicon Valley - Wall Street axis that funds the Trump movement yearns for the eternal 2013: slack labor market and sub-1% interest rates.

Additionally, cuts have been made to the numerous scientific research institutions across the State. By closing USAID and making other cuts, a farm research laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign was closed; laying off 30 employees and jeopardizing critical work beneficial to the US agriculture industry. Shutting down global food aid programs have harmed farmers nationwide, including in Illinois. Trump has also just announced he is withholding nearly $2 billion, illegally I might add, from numerous Illinois agencies and programs. A figure which coincidentally matches this year’s increase in the state budget. Will further harassment follow as the government’s case against Illinois and Chicago’s sanctuary status continue? I keep mentioning it but the Chicago Red Line Extension project needs to be moving with haste before it suffers the fate of other federal infrastructure projects.

This administration also has pursued banning DEI initiatives wherever possible. Recently announced plans to improve Black student performance have already been challenged by proxies of Trump’s movement. By assaulting every means of addressing Black student achievement, Trump’s proxies manufacture the poor conditions that justify their draconian policy maneuvers. These policies are the tip of the spear for ideologically disciplining the education system with the threat of defunding it.

They’ve All Gone Mad, You See