Involvement of labor crucial for democracy to endure, study shows

Democracy’s survival needs labor unions.

A study of different countries’ experiences drifting from democracies to authoritarian regimes shows that the success of resisting that result dramatically improves with the involvement of organized labor.

Overall, the success of preventing democracies from becoming dictatorships is about 50-50. However, a key factor in helping democracies survive is unions’ participation in civil resistance, according to research by Tarso Ramos, who explained the history last May at a City University of New York conference, “Labor in the Age of Authoritarian Politics.”

Ramos, a long-time analyst with Political Research Associates now with Future Currents, specializes in the study of Right-wing movements, and he found that with union involvement, societies successfully saving democracies increases from 50% to 80%.

Ramos drew on previous work by Erica Chenoweth of Harvard’s Kennedy School and co-author Maria J. Stephan of the Horizons Project, work that tracked more than 100 years of mass campaigns against authoritarianism. They showed that nonviolent civil resistance was twice as effective as armed struggles against aspiring dictatorships. Also, democracy movements that mobilized at lest 3.5% of a population never failed to protect democratic norms.

Scot Nakagawa in the Anti-Authoritarian Playbook Substack site attributes a few important factors:

* Unlike legal challenges, political efforts and protests alone, unions – especially through workplace actions – are powerful. As the late Gene Sharp of the Albert Einstein Institution asserted in his pillars-of-support theory, “authoritarian power rests on the cooperation of the governed, and the most consequential form of cooperation is economic,” Nakagawa wrote. “Regimes need revenue, production, logistics, public services. Workers control all of it.”

* Civil resistance needs organizations, and labor is capable of mobilizing a lot of people on short notice.

* Unlike the Right’s tendency to divide the population by race, religion, gender, geography, “the Other,”  etc., “unions organize across every one of these divisions, because workplaces are already diverse,” Nakagawa says. “Diverse participation as the single most important predictor of success.”

* Unions have experience taking collective action against power – and taking sustained action for a while through various tactics: work to rule, slowdowns, and sick-outs, declining optional overtime work, boycotts, (direct or informal), and labor’s ultimate tool, a strike.

* Finally, unions can draw on their history, legitimacy and popularity despite years of attacks, whether by employers or governments. When facing accusations that protestors are paid actors, mythical “Antifa” forces, “outside agitators” or extremists, unions stand their ground.

“When working people across multiple industries join a movement that [attack] narrative collapses,” Nakagawa says. “The broader public sees people like themselves standing up, and the regime’s framing loses its power.”

That’s why public support for labor unions in the United States is at an historic high, with Gallup reporting 68% approval last year, maintaining a five-year trend of 67%-71% support, levels not seen since the 1950s.

“Without active central participation by working people in the organizations that represent them, we don’t win,” Ramos says. “Or it’s a coin toss whether we do.”

Trump is taking billions from Illinois, blue states

As reported in the March Labor Paper, Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed Illinois budget faces a huge hit by the Trump administration rescinding more than $8 billion, according to the state’s office of Management and Budget.

But the scale of the consequences from what Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) called “inconsistent federal policies” is far worse for everyday Illinoisans, who’ll lose programs and services AND pay more in taxes and higher costs.

The effect of Trump’s financial targeting of states with Democratic governors and legislatures would take $61.5 billion from Illinois over the next 10 years, according to an analysis by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Generally, besides the negative economic effects from Trump’s tariffs and war in Iran – which increase costs for fuel, fertilizers and building materials – Illinois taxpayers will have to make up the difference (reportedly $1.45 billion through 2029) when the Trump administration drops the traditional federal role of sharing costs for programs such as SNAP benefits.

The Trump administration’s actions particularly threaten the Illinois Department of Public Health, withholding $86 million for, among dozens of program, efforts to reduce cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Related work at risk includes the Public Health Infrastructure Block Grant, which funds lead-poisoning prevention grants to 25 local departments and grants that support 674 public health jobs at 96 local agencies, according to a lawsuit filed by Illinois, which joined with California, Colorado and Minnesota in February to sue the federal government after the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services told Congress the funds’ purposes “do not reflect agency priorities.”

That lawsuit argues that the cuts are unlawful because they’re arbitrary, exceed HHS’ authority and unconstitutional.

The IDPH cuts would put 99 jobs in jeopardy, and gut the Chicago Department of Public Health’s lead-poisoning prevention, plus hurt a host of grants originally destined for 96 local agencies, $100 million in aid for COVID programs, $50 million in criminal justice assistance and more.

It’s not just Illinoisans’ health either.

About $2 billion is set to be taken back from public transit.

Illinois Deputy Secretary of State Scott Burnham told the Chicago Tribune that the transportation grant Trump’s trying to kill was supposed to save lives, improve services, and prevent fraud.

“The Trump administration is trying to cut funding for improving road safety, preventing crashes and saving lives in Illinois,” Burnham said. “This grant was awarded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and executed through a legal agreement between the agency and the Secretary of State’s office.

“Attempts to cut this critical funding for political purposes is not only vindictive and irresponsible, but Illegal,” he continued. “The Secretary of State will fight to make sure Illinois gets every dollar that is owed.”

That’s considerable.

Elsewhere, Illinois government faces:

* cuts to Medicaid estimated to cost Illinois $1 billion.

* cuts of $1 billion earmarked for child care.

* less help made available for disaster relief.

* $100 million clawed back from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,

* $1 billion intended to underwrite food banks, school lunches and other low-income assistance, in addition to dramatic reductions for education and energy projects, and

* $170 million going to non-governmental organizations such as the American Medical Association, Lurie’s Children’s hospital and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

Also, the sizable tax cuts for corporations and the rich in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” decrease revenues to states since state taxes are coupled with the feds. That could mean $1.4 billion less in income taxes generated to run Illinois’ state government.

The federal grants are vital, not frivolous, Pritzker said in his State of the State address.

“These are not handouts,” he said. “These are dollars that real Illinoisans paid in federal taxes and that have been constitutionally approved by our elected Democratic and Republican representatives in Washington.

“I want to say to anyone on either side of the aisle: If you want to talk about our FY 2027 budget, you must first demand the return of the money and resources this president has taken from the people of Illinois,” he added.

Meanwhile, there was a glimmer of hope last month when federal Judge Manish Shah blocked some of what Trump is trying to withhold, ordering a Preliminary Injunction on Trump’s attempt to withhold $600 million in health-care grants while that lawsuit brought by Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other states’ AGs works its way through the courts. Shah previously issued a Temporary Restraining Order for a month, but on March 13 he bolstered the order to prevent the rescission for now.

“The loss of capacity to fund and maintain public-health infrastructure puts the health of plaintiffs’ residents in jeopardy,” wrote Shah, from the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. “The states’ sovereign interests here outweigh the executive branch’s likely unlawful interest in using pre-authorized funding to shape state-run governance.”

In a prepared statement, Raoul praised Shah’s injunction.

“Thanks to the order we secured, hundreds of nurses, disease detectives and other essential public-health workers will keep their jobs as we fight the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to terminate more than $600 million in health-related funding,” he said.

Retirees group scores federal lawmakers

U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood (Illinois’ 16^th Dist.) and Mary Miller (15^th Dist.) both scored zero in the Alliance for Retired Americans Congressional Voting Record covering key issues in 2025, released last month.

Illinois’ other Republican member of Congress, Mike Bost, was barely better, scoring a 13 on the scale of 100.

The rest of the state’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, all Democrats, scored no lower than 96 (Bill Foster of the 11^th Dist.). Eight had perfect 100 scores.

On the senate side, both Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth had perfect scores.

Formed by the AFL-CIO 25 years ago, the Alliance for Retired Americans is now a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for issues important to seniors.

The ARA’s recorded votes for 10 House measures, such as three bills cutting senior program, a repeal of health and safety regulations, and health-care cuts, all of which passed despite opposition by ARA and allies on capitol hill. One “pro-retiree” proposal, on workforce security – restoring collective bargaining rights for about 1 million federal workers who faced President Trump’s Executive Order trying to eliminate those rights – was passed, as ARA recommended.

Ten other issues were tracked in the Senate, including two measures to cut Medicaid, a bill lowering health-care coverage, and four controversial nominations, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. (Mehmet) Oz.\

For the ARA’s complete, 50-state voting record, go to-

https://retiredamericans.org/voting-record/

 

Is Spring planting time, or time to worry about pesticides and cancer?

Gentlemen, start your tractors.

Neighbors, hold your breath.

In farm country, some proud producers say, “We feed the world,” but though Illinois is the second-largest corn- producing state, 98% of corn grown in Illinois is field corn used for industrial purposes, not consumption by humans.

Of that, 98% of Illinois corn is used for ethanol production, according to the Farm Bureau, and somewhere between 7% and 15% is used for animal feed or industrial food products such as sweeteners and syrup. Further, about half is exported (depending on shipping disruptions or tariffs and other market factors).

Regardless of crops’ end-use purposes, agribusiness for decades has increasingly relied on pesticides and fertilizers, and the United States saw higher yields of commodity crops thanks at least in part to agrichemicals sprayed from airplanes, drones, tractors and handheld devices.

“[But] these chemicals can drift through the air or run off into nearby rivers and streams,” said Ben Felder of Investigate Midwest. “And for decades, some farmers and pesticide users have developed neurological and respiratory issues. Thousands of lawsuits have alleged that pesticides and the companies that make them were to blame.”

The Tri-County area (with 989 farms in Peoria County, 869 in Tazewell, and 997 in Woodford, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture) has a pesticide use rate about eight times the national average of 197.3 kilograms (435 pounds) per square mile, and a cancer rate about 10% higher than what the National Cancer Institute says is the national rate: 453 cases per 100,000 people. (See box below.)

“Illinois’ industrial agriculture system is responsible for toxic pesticide exposure across communities adjacent to farmland, like here in the central part of the state, where winds carry these carcinogenic chemicals across our parks and playgrounds, exposing children and families with no notice,” Illinois Environmental Council’s Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture Program Officer Lindsay Keeney told the Community Word. “Pesticide applicators are not required to notify schools before spraying, but we’re working to change that.”

Correlation isn’t cause, but connections cause concerns.

“Cancer is a complex disease and can be caused by numerous environmental and genetic factors,” Felder said. “Some links have been clear — such as smoking and lung cancer — while other forms can be impossible to trace back to an original cause. But scientific research linking pesticides with certain types of cancers has been growing.”

One study –“Comprehensive assessment of pesticide use patterns and increased cancer risk” in the journal Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society – reported that “the impact of pesticide use on cancer incidence may rival that of smoking,” wrote the scientists, who linked pesticides to prostate, lung, pancreas and colon cancers, plus associated pesticides with lymphoma and Parkinson’s disease.

Also, cancer development can range from months to decades. But displaying cancer rates on a map of the nation’s top crop and vegetable growing regions, where pesticide use is highest, is revealing. Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska — leading corn-growing states — have the country’s highest cancer rates

In Iowa, the legislature seemed to recognize the connection, but last year responded by proposing a law protecting pesticide manufacturers from some lawsuits, not residents. Iowa’s state Senate passed the bill (Senate File 2412) one year ago, 30-19. But ahead of a vote in the House, lobbying by farmer, public health and environmental groups made a difference. 

“I call myself a Republican, but this is not about politics,” commented Bill Billings, a resident of Red Oak, Iowa, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. “This is about money, about the almighty dollar,”

Iowa’s legislative session ended without the House taking up a vote, although he bill could return in 2026,

In Illinois, lawmakers are trying to prioritize public health.

“House Bill 1596 would require certified pesticide applicators to provide written notice before spraying to private and public schools, daycares and public parks and playgrounds near the application site,” Keeney said. “The notification requirement would apply only to large-scale operations that use boom sprayers, tractor-mounted sprayers, and airplanes to apply weed killers — not residential applications.
“Large applicators should have a real responsibility not to expose their neighbors to dangerous chemicals without their knowledge,” she added. “Our partners at Prairie Rivers Network have called this “chemical trespass,” and they’re right. It’s not safe. It’s not okay. And it is time for the Illinois General Assembly to step up and put in place real protections for central and southern Illinois communities, children, and ecosystems. Sponsored by eight lawmakers, all Democrats, HB1596 was introduced in January 2025. The bill passed the Energy & Environment Committee on March 15, 2025, underwent amendments and was sent to the Rules Committee, which approve it for consideration on Feb. 11 this year and got a second reading two days later. There’s been no action since March 6.

Nationally, both progressive environmental groups and conservative health movements have called for reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides. 

“Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a longtime critic of pesticides, in a May 2025 report from his Make America Healthy Again commission, linked pesticide overuse to children’s health issues, which drew praise from both political camps,” Felder said. However, “three months later, Kennedy’s MAHA commission published its final report, which contained no calls to further regulate pesticides. In fact, it called for the federal government to work with large agrichemical companies to ensure public “awareness and confidence” in the EPA’s current pesticide regulations.”

 

Investigate Midwest’s new research, released Feb. 18, shows metro Peoria’s three counties’ pesticide use rate per square mile and cancer rate per 100,000 people:

 

PEORIA

Pesticide rate 1,048 lbs.

Cancer rate 501 cases

 

TAZEWELL

Pesticide rate 1,413 lbs.

Cancer rate 504 cases

 

WOODFORD

Pesticide rate 1,520 lbs.

Cancer rate 502 cases

In context, the U.S. pesticide rate per square mile is 435 lbs., Investigate Midwest reports, and the cancer rate is about 453 per 100,000 people, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Investigate Midwest’s “Pesticide use and cancer risk rise together across America’s heartland” analyzed data across the country, interviewed more than 100 farmers, environmentalists, lawmakers and scientists as part of a partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship and supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. For the complete original piece, go to https://investigatemidwest.org/2026/02/18/pesticide-use-and-cancer-risk-rise-together-across-americas-heartland/

 

‘Bleacher bums’ and Notre Dame soccer

Sanctions have been placed against Peoria Notre Dame’s soccer program following racially charged behavior at the October Regional game against rival Normal Community, and the most troubling actions came from the stands and staff, not the players, according to documents the Community Word obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

People who’ve coached amateur Little League, JFL, volleyball, etc., know that fans can get unruly, but rarely does it extend to racist slurs and uncooperative coaches.

Coming into the 6 p.m. Class 3A Regional Final Oct. 24, the high school teams were co-champions of the Big 12 conference, both with 9-0-1 records, although overall, the Normal Community Ironmen were 19-4-4, and the Notre Dame Irish were 15-4-3. Head-to-head, Normal had won once and they tied once.

But on that cool, cloudy evening at the historic “Soule Bowl” in East Moline, the atmosphere turned hot.

In the first half, Normal Community (NC) scored a goal and celebrated, and Notre Dame spectators – parents as well as students – erupted and called one NC player “a f**king [N-word]” and also directed the insult to an official, according to a report with the IHSA (the Illinois High School Association, which regulates, supervises, and develops interscholastic sports and activities).

One of the referees said, “I heard slurs,” and added that players from both teams confirmed it.

Later, when the crowd’s volume and vulgarities got worse, a Notre Dame administrator was asked to try to calm the situation but he refused to help, according to a post-game report. An on-site IHSA representative, Moline High School Athletic Director Todd Thompson, intervened to request the team remove the offending crowd from sight and sound of the game, but Notre Dame staff only reluctantly moved their crowd a short distance, still within players’ and officials’ eyes and ears.

“Throughout the rest of the game, the Peoria Notre Dame spectators continued to taunt and heckle [the] crew, Normal Community players and even some Peoria Notre Dame players,” the report said. “The spectators were shouting comments [such as] “We need a center official who isn’t a female,” “Referee, the game isn’t about you; let the boys play” and “Referee, you suck; how did you get this game?”

In the second half, an official called a foul against Notre Dame for a play that injured a Normal Community athlete, and Peoria fans slammed the player, screaming to “Get his ass up!”

An official had enough, reporting, “I made the decision to clear all spectators from the field/stands. I let both [teams] know that we would not be restarting the match until the spectators were up the hill and behind the premises gate. Again, the Peoria ND AD refused to assist in getting his spectators under control. The Peoria ND head coach [also] refused to assist in the matter until I gave two options: clear the spectators or abandon the match. Both were still hesitant to assist, so I gave a two-minute time limit.”

Before police helped clear spectators, an official said, Thompson and his helpers were cursed during the removal.

The match ended with Normal Community winning 4-3, the school’s third straight Regional title. But the consequences didn’t end with a whistle.

Obviously, it’s been months since the episode, but it’s gone unreported by sports media and it shocked some soccer devotees.

Brandon Knauss is uniquely qualified to comment. An alum of Notre Dame, he played soccer there and in college before becoming a licensed referee.

“I know what I’m talking about,” Knauss said after watching the game. “Heckling has gotten beyond fun. It has become personal and often times hateful. I do not stand for referee abuse.”

After the game, Thompson separately reported, “PND was an absolute mess on the fan side. I have never witnessed or been a part of a situation like this, but it all falls back to the fact there are no consequences for the way PND coaching staff, fans and administration act towards anyone with authority. The issues we are having … are continuously growing, and individuals need to be held accountable.”

Knauss, when asked if such turmoil from fans is unusual, told the Community Word, “For most, yes. For that program, absolutely not. Who wants to go against the rich and privileged?”

Maybe this polarized time somehow makes hooliganism and racism acceptable, but the IHSA couldn’t ignore the blatant violation of its Code of Conduct. IHSA’s Boys Soccer “Manual for Schools and Managers” lists unacceptable behavior, including “disrespectful or derogatory yells, chants, songs or gestures; booing or heckling an official’s decision; criticizing officials in any way [and] displays of temper with an official’s call; yells that antagonize opponents; and use of profanity or displays of anger that draw attention away from the game”). Also, its “Schools’ Responsibility to An Official” states, “Insist coaches display good sportsmanship and are proper examples for players and crowd, prevent any disturbances that may occur” [and] work with officials regarding crowd control.”

IHSA Associate Executive Director Matt Troha told the Community Word, “There was an investigation into this incident following a Special Report being filed with our office. After talking to the game officials and schools involved, sanctions were implemented on the Peoria Notre Dame soccer program for the 2026 boys soccer season.”

Past IHSA sanctions against schools in similar incidents have included suspensions of players and coaches, the inability to host post-season events for periods of time, or a probationary status, but Troha declined to provide details on the sanctions against Notre Dame.

“We are confident that the school is taking this situation very seriously and is working to ensure a similar situation does not occur again,” he said.

Peoria Notre Dame coaches and administrators did not respond to multiple requests for a comment.