The nonprofit CleanEarth4Kids hosted a peaceful protest against Project 2025 on Tuesday. About 70 people lined a sidewalk along Chestnut Expressway in front of Historic Springfield City Hall after the rain stopped. A dedicated 25 or so held umbrellas, while trying to keep them from blowing away, even as the rain fell and the wind blew.
Here’s some of what they had to say.
"My name is Suzanne Hume. I'm the educational director and founder of CleanEarth4Kids, and we've started Stop Project 2025 USA because it is so important to us to protect children's health. education and future. And we are so saddened by the cuts to Medicaid. Goodness, that will hurt children, families and seniors. We are so saddened by so many of the things that are happening. People are laid off from their federal jobs, public education being threatened and, of course, cuts to Head Start. Head Start helps over 800,000 children with learning and physical delays, and we just, we need these essential programs."
"I'm Jane Riley, Michael Riley. I came wearing my mother's Marine coat. She served in '44-'45 until the end of WWII. We fought against Fascism then. My mother is deceased now, but I wear her coat proudly." Her husband added, "I'm most upset about DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump Administration). He pointed to Elon Musk and "his infiltration into our government," his wife added. Michael Riley said, "and what he's doing. I'm on social security, I'm on Medicare, and I'm worried about, you know, that being gone for everybody."
"Larry Halverson...I am very concerned about the clean Earth. I am very concerned about global warming. I'm very concerned about the weather, about the science, and all of the things that have made our country great are being dumped in the trash by this president and his regime."
"Brenda Simpson. I feel like the country is just really going in the wrong direction. I think that a lot of people are very misguided in what they believe and what they've been told. I just want to support democracy. I feel like it's kind of being pushed aside, and our values as Americans are being pushed aside. It makes me very sad that that's happening, but I feel like we have to speak up. And I've never been one to be in protests or to be loud, so to speak, but I think now is high time to be loud and be out here supporting what we believe in as Americans."
"Nathanael Haling. I came out to support myself and my family and what I believe in. My main concerns are our forests and trans and queer rights."
Marine Veteran Bryce Lockwood said he was there to support freedom in America.
"We're here to say that freedom matters, justice matters, and we're here to let America know that we do not like what's going on in Washington, and we want freedom to prevail."