By WMBD TV
NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — A rally was held in Uptown Normal on Monday afternoon in front of State Representative Daren LaHood’s office to defend SNAP and federal healthcare cuts.
“We are all constituents of Congressional District 16; Congressman LaHood’s district. We need a representative who is going to work for the people and is going to take votes that help us rather than hurt us,” said Gail McDermott, organizer of the rally from the Alliance for Community Services.
The purpose of this rally is to hopefully have their voices heard. They hope that once heard, SNAP benefits and federal healthcare benefits will not be cut. They plan to build a stronger community to make that possible.
“Community is very important, and we are forming a community. We’re finding out that there are a lot of people who have the same concerns and worries. I think there is power in numbers,” McDermott said. “We would like to have our elected representatives understand that we are a group that needs to be listened to and heard and considered.”
Arranged by the Alliance for Community Services, a grassroots group started in March. None of the members are being paid to hold these rallies, and are doing so out of their own free will and frustration with the government.
“I started it by myself the first week of March, after I was very frustrated with the lack of response from our representative to any of our issues, and we have grown. We have a nice little posse that shows up every Monday from noon to one in front of his office in Uptown Normal,” she said.
Around 60 people attended the rally, waving signs and making speeches in hopes of being heard. A food drive was also held at the rally, organized by the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, to aid anyone who needs food.
In the future, the group hopes for progress, with the local government and their own group growing.
“We will continue to show up. We speak to people in the community. We’ve had people come by and actually ask questions about what’s going on. That’s part of what we want to do. We would love to actually hear from our congressman to address some of the concerns about his votes, but in the meantime, we will just show up,” she said.
The group holds rallies every Monday in front of LaHood’s office in Uptown Normal, from 12-1, hoping that they will be heard sooner rather than later.
“I think we have groups that are finding out about each other that maybe we can we can unite, learn more about each other. We also want to have our voices heard and our concerns heard,” she said.
“Come join us. Bring a sign or use one of ours. Have your voices heard.”
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