Got questions? Get answers.

So far the state of Illinois is doing a fantastic job keeping us (mostly) safe from fascist MAGA actions. Nonetheless we have many questions — about our health care, our schools and our First Amendment rights, to name just a few. Here’s your chance to ask those questions, and many more. Join Rep. Murri Briel and Speaker Chris Welch this coming Tuesday for a community town hall in North Utica. The town hall is hosted at the International Union Operators Engineers Hall on Route 6. Doors open at 5:30. See you there!

Tomorrow we march. Then we celebrate.

Labor and community are planning more than a barbecue on Labor Day weekend this year because we have to stop the billionaire takeover. Billionaires are stealing from working families, destroying our democracy, and building private armies to attack our towns and cities.

We are working people rising up to stop the billionaire takeover–not just through the ballot box or the courts, but by showing up in support of the worker who are the backbone of our country.

This weekend we’re joining thousands of communities across the country in protest of the billionaire takeover. We look forward to seeing you at Rotary Park tomorrow, 11 am - 1 pm.

This Labor Day Weekend: Not Just for BBQ

Kings don’t work. Oligarchs don’t work. You know who DOES work? WE DO.

Honored guests at Trump inauguration 2025

The billionaire class has been fighting the labor movement ever since it began — and for obvious reasons. Better pay, better benefits and safer working conditions cost employers money, and they’re not inclined to share their wealth. So it’s really no surprise that King Donald and his MAGA minions are colluding with the wealthiest men in the world to build their already obscene fortunes and protect their assets on the backs of hard-working Americans. What IS surprising is the speed and ferocity of their attacks on our rights. Just in the last few weeks, the MAGA administration announced it plans to change over 60 regulations it deems "unnecessary" burdens to businesses and economic growth. Here’s what those changes mean for us:

  • Elimination of minimum wage and overtime protections to home healthcare workers;

  • Allowing employers to pay sub-minimum wages to disabled employees;

  • Undermining OSHA’s ability to punish businesses that put their employees in dangerous situations;

  • Rolling back restrictions meant to protect workers from heat-related stress on the job;

  • Weakening OSHA safety requirements that prevent roof falls, mine explosions, and exposure to toxic silica.

Of course this just scratches the surface — for the full list, see The Century Foundation. Adding insult to injury, MAGA Republicans in Congress are moving to strip the NEA — one of the biggest and most politically active unions in the US — of its charter.

Friends, we must unite to stop the billionaire agenda that has taken over the federal government! Instead of making life more affordable, lifting wages for workers, or repairing generations of racial injustice, the Trump administration is dismantling the government, overseeing mass firings, and gutting worker protections and social services in order to transfer even more wealth to the 1%.

So before you heat up the grill and grab your barbecue tools on Labor Day weekend, pick up a sign and join us in protest against this orchestrated attack on “government for the people.”

We’ll be at Rotary Park on Saturday, August 30. 11 am - 1 pm. See you there!

STAND UP against the regime

Is it an exaggeration to say the United States of America is falling into the control of an authoritarian regime? We don’t think so. We believe this is happening right now and right in front of our eyes. Consider the following:

  • The Trump administration has supported reviving the ENCRYPT Act and advancing the STOP CSAM Act. Though framed as protecting children, both bills would compromise end-to-end encryption by introducing backdoor access for law enforcement, jeopardizing digital privacy for everyone.

  • Former intelligence officials who publicly criticized Trump have had their security clearances revoked.

  • ICE has signed 370 new 287(g) agreements with local police, dramatically expanding federal immigration enforcement while eliminating oversight panels.

  • The IRS has reportedly conducted selective audits of nonprofit organizations that fund protest bail and civil disobedience support, suggesting politically targeted enforcement.

  • “Trump 2028” merchandise has appeared on campaign sites, prompting alarm over flirtation with violating the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit for presidents.

  • In 22 states, 41 bills have been introduced or passed that criminalize protest actions like roadway blockades and legally shield drivers who injure demonstrators.

  • The Pentagon has ordered the removal of books on race and gender from military academies and libraries, citing them as “divisive” or aligned with critical race theory.

  • The White House has repeatedly called for the impeachment of judges who block its immigration orders. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public rebuke in response.

  • In defiance of a Supreme Court ruling in the Kilmar Ábrego García case, the White House delayed returning a deported immigrant to the U.S., prompting a constitutional crisis over executive defiance of judicial authority.

The pace and pattern of these actions suggest not isolated excesses but a coordinated strategy to consolidate executive power, dismantle accountability mechanisms, and undermine democratic resistance. This is how authoritarianism wins: not through a single moment of crisis, but through normalization, rationalization, and delay. Each step feels like only a slight shift from the last. And when the shock finally comes, the country has already changed.

The time to stand up is NOW – while resistance is still possible. Join us at Rotary Park in Princeton this Saturday at 11.

Many thanks to Sage Lewis for his invaluable master list!

Don't miss the John Mitchell Dinner!

Democracy is being challenged.

What would you have done if you were alive in 1930’s Germany? That question is now our reality.

What freedom will look like for every American will depend on what we do next; how we choose to stand up to and resist Republican Fascism at every level of government.

What that resistance will look like in Congress will depend on who we elect in not only the 14th but to an even greater extent, in the 16th and our ability to elect a Democrat to the Senate.

Whether Illinois will be able to remain a beacon in the Midwest will depend on who we elect to be our leaders in 2026.

Whether our county continues to pass far right-wing, ideology-based resolutions will be influenced by who we have running for and getting elected to the county board.

The safety and well-being of Bureau County residents will be determined by who we elect to be our next sheriff.

Women’s reproductive freedom is on the line. Women’s financial freedom is on the line. The ability to love who you love is on the line. The ability to be who you are is on the line. The ability to live and work in safe and welcoming spaces, citizens and migrants alike, is on the line. The work of becoming a more racially and socially just society is on the line.

To ensure that we are able to elect our Democratic candidates; the candidates who will ensure we remain a democracy, we need to get our message out. Attending the John Mitchell dinner will provide the Bureau County Democrats with the resources we need to get our message to our voters and will allow us to support the candidates who will look out for US.

Individual tickets are $45. You may pay by check to Bureau County Democratic Central Committee, 934 N. Main St., Princeton, IL 61356, at the door, or online at ActBlue. Please join us for great food, great fellowship and some great speakers, including Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton!

To assist us in making dinner arrangements please RSVP to: 815-664-3501 or bureaucountydems@gmail.com

We honor John Mitchell for standing up for working Americans and helping to create a strong middle class. As the first two-time president and a founder of the United Mine Workers of America, John Mitchell championed safe working conditions, a 40-hour work week, and worker compensation. John Mitchell fought for the rights we now find ourselves having to fight for once again. As Democrats, we need to come together to celebrate our legacy and to commit to one another our willingness to stand side-by-side, just as John Mitchell did with his brothers, to protect our rights; to protect ourselves, our brothers and our sisters from the corporate greed intent on taking away our bargaining rights, dismantling the social safety net, and destroying the middle class. To protect our rights and our democracy, we must elect strong candidates willing to stand with us in this fight. Help the Bureau County Democratic Party elect pro-working class, pro-democracy candidates, up and down the ballot, by attending the John Mitchell Dinner.

On July 19th, March in Peace. Act in Power.

Good Trouble Lives On is a response to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Together, we’ll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.

We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations. Whether you’re outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearance of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protest, this moment is for you.

Coined by civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, "Good Trouble" is the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. That’s why on July 19, almost exactly five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, we will carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.

“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
Congressman John Lewis

Join us Saturday, July 19, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm at Rotary Park in Princeton as we honor the legacy of this great American.

July 4th 2025 - Death of the Dream

“Fascism - A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.”
— American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

The Fourth of July is meant to be a celebration of freedom and democracy. But not this July 4. Today marks the day the United States turns its back on the rule of law. Today is the day our country declares war on compassion and subverts the noble dream our country was founded upon. Welcome to the Fascist States of America.

Senator Alex Padilla (CA) forcibly removed from Homeland Security press conference.

This is where we are today. Our government is “disappearing” people of color without due process. We are deporting journalists whose work may conflict with the “official” versions of events. We have deployed the National Guard to suppress constitutionally protected peaceful protests; and we have arrested elected officials who question government actions.

Then consider the budget bill just passed by both Senate and House. Among other atrocities, it allocates over $100 billion to ICE and border enforcement, including $45 billion to build new concentration camps – oops, detention centers. And how will the government pay for this tremendous expenditure? Easy. Simply by cutting ONE TRILLION DOLLARS almost entirely from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance plans. Over the next ten years more than 11 million Americans will lose their health insurance because of this budget.

There is nothing to celebrate on this July 4th - instead we mourn the death of everything righteous and beautiful in our country. Tonight the fireworks will sound like mortar fire and smell like burning forests. Let us gather together tomorrow in protest.

Newsom speaks out as Trump declares war on California

Say what you will about California Governor Gavin Newsom, the man just delivered the speech of a lifetime. And given that the state of Illinois and Governor Pritzker are probably right near the top of Dear Leader’s power-mad to-do list, we’d all be wise to heed Gov. Newsom’s words.

For those of you who prefer video, you’ll find Governor Newsom’s speech HERE. Otherwise, we’ve got the full transcript below. Read it or watch it — and then SHOW UP at Rotary Park this Saturday at 11:00!

Here’s Governor Newsom’s Address to California:

“I want to say a few words about the events of the last few days.

This past weekend, federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids in and around Los Angeles. Those raids continue as I speak.

California is no stranger to immigration enforcement. But instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders, a strategy both parties have long supported, this administration is pushing mass deportations, indiscriminately targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk.

What’s happening right now is very different than anything we’ve seen before. On Saturday morning, when federal agents jumped out of an unmarked van near a Home Depot parking lot, they began grabbing people. A deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb. A similar scene also played out when a clothing company was raided downtown.

In other actions, a U.S. citizen, nine months pregnant, was arrested; a 4-year-old girl, taken; families separated; friends, quite literally, disappearing.

In response, everyday Angelinos came out to exercise their Constitutional right to free speech and assembly, to protest their government’s actions. In turn, the State of California and the City and County of Los Angeles sent our police officers to help keep the peace and, with some exceptions, they were successful.

Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of unrest. We manage it regularly, and with our own law enforcement. But this, again, was different. What then ensued was the use of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets, federal agents detaining people and undermining their due process rights.

Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets, illegally and for no reason. This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk.

That’s when the downward spiral began. He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder. And the president, he did it on purpose. As the news spread throughout L.A., anxiety for family and friends ramped up. Protests started again.

By night, several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive. They vandalized property. They tried to assault police officers. Many of you have seen video clips of cars burning on cable news.

Marines in Los Angeles

If you incite violence — I want to be clear about this — if you incite violence or destroy our communities, you are going to be held to account. That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Full stop.

Already, more than 220 people have been arrested. And we’re reviewing tapes to build additional cases and people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Again, thanks to our law enforcement officers and the majority of Angelenos who protested peacefully, this situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown.

But that, that’s not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation, he chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. He federalized another 2,000 Guard members. He deployed more than 700 active U.S. Marines. These are men and women trained in foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement. We honor their service. We honor their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces. Not in L.A. Not in California. Not anywhere.

We’re seeing unmarked cars, unmarked cars in school parking lots. Kids afraid of attending their own graduation. Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals. His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses.

“Look, this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard. he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.

Democracy is next.”

That’s just weakness, weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities. They are traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point.

California will keep fighting. We’ll keep fighting on behalf of our people, all of our people, including in the courts.

Yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to President Trump’s reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city. Today, we sought an emergency court order to stop the use of the American military to engage in law enforcement activities across Los Angeles.

If some of us can be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there.

Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control. And by the way, Trump, he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th?

I ask everyone: Take time, reflect on this perilous moment. A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetuating a unified assault on American traditions.

This is a president who, in just over 140 days, has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable, accountable for corruption and fraud. He’s declared a war, a war on culture, on history, on science, on knowledge itself. Databases quite literally are vanishing.

He’s delegitimizing news organizations and he’s assaulting the First Amendment. And the threat of defunding them. At threat, he’s dictating what universities themselves can teach. He’s targeting law firms and the judicial branch that are the foundations of an orderly and civil society. He’s calling for a sitting governor to be arrested for no other reason than to, in his own words, “for getting elected.”

And we all know, this Saturday, he’s ordering our American heroes, the United States military, and forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past.

Look, this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard. he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.

Democracy is next.

Democracy is under assault right before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project: three coequal branches of independent government.

There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility.

The rule of law has increasingly been given way to the rule of Don.

Peaceful protest blocks expressway in LA

The founding fathers didn’t live and die to see this kind of moment. It’s time for all of us to stand up. Justice Brandeis, he said it best. In a democracy, the most important office — with all due respect, Mr. President — is not the presidency, and it’s certainly not governor. The most important office is office of citizen.

At this moment, at this moment, we all need to stand up and be held to account, a higher level of accountability. If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please, please do it peacefully.

I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress, and fear. But I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment.

Do not give into him.”

Why we celebrate Pride – especially this year!

Pride Month is a time to celebrate all the diverse identities that compose humanity. It’s a time to celebrate love in the many ways love is expressed. But Pride is also an act of remembrance for those who died in acts of hate-fueled violence and those who died in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Pride is when we acknowledge the ongoing struggle for basic human rights, and when we rally support for LGBTQIA+ causes. This year, the cause is clearly that of transgender Americans.

Within hours of taking office our Dear Leader issued an executive order titled “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” which withdraws all President Biden’s executive orders that served to protect and promote the well-being of transgender, intersex and non-binary persons.

He quickly followed that up with another executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which is designed to erase transgender people from the national consciousness and strip them of their rights.

This order defines sex as strictly male or female based on the “immutable biological reality of sex” characteristics at birth. It explicitly denies the existence of transgender and nonbinary people, stating, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” It prohibits the recognition of gender identity in federal documents and aims to eliminate funding for gender-affirming care, asserting that “gender ideology” undermines women's rights and safety. Get more details at THEM.

This month we hope to promote greater respect – and yes, love – for these Americans who are so persecuted by our administration. You might consider making this small public act of support – get a bumper sticker! And don’t forget to attend a Pride event – there are two celebrations next weekend, one in Dixon and one in Ottawa.

In the meantime, let’s get you up to speed on this human rights crisis:



There are no kings here!

The grand story of the United States officially began on July 4, 1776 when the American Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. That was the last day our country was ruled by a king.

Until now.

Since he took office in January 2025, our Dear Leader has been acting like a king. Bypassing and negating the powers of Congress and ignoring federal laws already in effect, he’s already issued 157 executive orders attempting to control the widest possible areas of American life, from shower heads to our First Amendment rights. He’s also delivered controversial pardons and commutations ranging from the seditious leaders of the January 6 attack on the Capitol to C-list TV celebrities.

This is NOT how the United States of America is governed! There are NO KINGS here. Join us as we protest this unprecedented, unlawful, unamerican power grab! We look forward to seeing you at Rotary Park in Princeton at 11 am on Saturday, June 14.

FIND US ON MOBILIZE

How Republicans are Destroying Everything

Today the US Senate comes back into session. The first item up for consideration will be the wrecking ball that is the Republican budget bill. Because the bill is presented through the process of reconciliation, it can be passed with a simple majority vote; there are currently 53 Republican Senators in office. So let’s do the math: our illustrious VP will be ready to cast a vote in the event of a 50-50 tie, meaning a minimum of four Republicans will have to vote against the bill to keep it from passing.

Don’t hold your breath.

The ramifications of this budget are very bad – VERY bad – and once the dumpster fire starts burning its effects will be felt down to the very foundations of our country. It’s time to go dumpster diving and suss out what we’ll be losing and who will be winning.

The American Dream becomes Robin Hood in reverse
You remember this one. Any hard worker with a fierce will to succeed can find opportunity in the United States – it is, after all, the “land of opportunity,” right? Trump’s “big beautiful bill” will strip money and resources away from regular folks and funnel them into the pockets of the wealthy. According to one US Representative, Don Beyer of Virginia, "The unavoidable truth is that Republicans' core priority with this legislation was to benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, and that is exactly what their bill does."

READ MORE at Common Dreams and USA Today

Families and the elderly will go hungry
The new bill makes massive cuts to SNAP benefits. For starters, under new SNAP rules children over the age of 7 will no longer qualify as dependents unless they live in a household with two married parents. The bill also requires adults without children to continue working through age 64 in order to receive benefits. Overall the budget cuts almost $300 billion from the SNAP program, affecting millions of American families.

READ MORE at The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and The New Civil Rights Movement

Health care will be harder to find and afford – again
Sweeping changes to Medicaid and huge future cuts to Medicare (as early as next year according to the Congressional Budget Office) are a big part of Trump’s big brutal bill. The healthcare marketplace will take a hit as well. And with less Medicaid money going to hospitals – especially the rural ones – we’re likely to see even more hospitals closing across the country.

READ MORE at Vox, Justice in Aging and The American Hospital Association

Don’t give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
In a country founded and built by immigrants it will now cost $1000 to apply for asylum. Additional fees will pile on for work permits and for each year an immigration case continues. Sponsoring an immigrant child held in detention will cost upwards of $8000. Any person apprehended by ICE at the border will face a fine of $5000 in addition to deportation. In the new America, money talks and compassion walks away.

READ MORE at The New Republic and Immigration Impact

Still, we have the courts to keep things in balance, right?
Nope. There’s a sneaky little paragraph in the bill that seeks to strip power away from the judiciary and hand it over to the president. This is no surprise considering the number of court cases currently filed against the unconstitutional acts of our Dear Leader.

READ MORE at the Christian Science Monitor and MSNBC

But wait – there’s more! The big brutal bill also takes an axe to:

If any of this scares you or makes you angry, raise your voice with us on Saturday, June 14 at Rotary Park in Princeton, 11 am – 1 pm. See you there!

Rep. Lauren Underwood is killing it!

Oh, yes — Lauren Underwood has been speaking out loud and strong in favor of our constitution and the rule of law. As ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, Rep. Underwood has been challenging the Trump administration’s use and misuse of our tax dollars.

Especially of note is her recent grilling of Homeland Security Secretary regarding the agency’s actions. Watch our representative go to work:

Meet her for a conversation next Thursday, May 29 in Marseilles, courtesy of Laborers Local 393.

Crisis? What Crisis?

Oh, right.
That one.

Spend a few minutes googling the phrase “constitutional crisis” and you’ll find news organizations and human rights groups all over the globe wondering if the Trump 2.0 administration has forced the country into this foundationally disastrous situation. Our thoughts? The debate is pointless. Our country is in deep trouble no matter what you call it.

In less than 100 days our Dear Leader has shredded the US Constitution he has sworn to uphold. Just a few examples:

Had enough? We certainly have. Join us on Saturday, May 3 at Rotary Park in Princeton as we raise our voices in protest of this unprecedented assault on our Constitution - while we still can.

Where will Darin LaHood be this Saturday?

We don’t know. But he probably won’t be at the town hall meeting for the 16th Congressional District that he represents. You, on the other hand — you can be there! Our US Representative has been taking a lot of heat for his unwillingness to meet with his constituents. Let’s turn the heat up a few more notches by attending the town hall meeting that will happen with or without him! Carpool, anyone?

 

Stand Up for Democracy! There are no kings here.

On April 19, 1775 the American Revolution began in response to a series of Acts supported by King George III and executed by his Prime Minister, George Grenville. Taken together they were called “The Intolerable Acts.”

Right now, nearly 250 years later, King Donald and his Lord Chancellor Musk — or is it the other way around? — are imposing policies that threaten our country and our democracy in numerous ways. These rapid-fire decisions are being made unilaterally and without the consent of Congress or the consent of the governed.

So how intolerable are these acts? Let’s take a quick and incomplete look:

• Bypassing Congress to change election laws;
• Deporting immigrants without due process;
• Purging federal health agencies;
• Slashing programs at the Veterans’ Administration;
• Randomly firing thousands of federal employees;
• Moving to privatize the US Postal Service; and
• Censoring colleges and universities by holding their finances hostage.

If you find these acts intolerable, raise your voice in protest and Stand Up for Democracy next Saturday, April 5 at Rotary Park in Princeton, 11 am - 1 pm. We hope to see you there!

As a final note, are you wondering why King Donald is so mad at Columbia University? Here’s a thought. And one more small irony for you: The word “doge” is a synonym for “chief executive.” No kidding. You can look it up.