Morgan Gillham expected to go to Douglas Elementary School in Belleville on Tuesday to tutor students in math and reading, just as she has every Tuesday and Thursday for the past seven months.
Then at 8:27 p.m. on Monday, the Southwestern Illinois College student received an email from Jay Stokes, director of Belleville AmeriCorps.
“Our AmeriCorps Program has been ordered to stop all work until further notice by the Illinois Dept of Human Services and the (Illinois Serve Commission),” the email stated. “Do not report to your school until further notice. Your principals have been notified.”
The 32-year-old program apparently is the latest casualty related to cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE.
Gillham, 19, of Belleville, an AmeriCorps worker since February 2024, called the news “devastating.” Beyond tutoring, she also has helped with Mount Hope Cemetery clean-ups, Art on the Square crafts for kids, Cities in Harmony and other community projects.
The way Gillham understands AmeriCorps rules, she won’t receive her $1,950 education award, which she planned to use for tuition, if she can’t fulfill her contract to perform 450 hours of service this academic year.
But it’s about more than money, Gillham said.
“I’ve gotten so close to (Douglas students and staff). It really is like a family there,” she said. “They’re more than just coworkers. So it was really upsetting that I couldn’t go in and do my work.”
Stokes, who is employed by SWIC, couldn’t be reached for comment.
The number, ages and backgrounds of Belleville AmeriCorps workers vary each year, according to Field Coordinator Ashley Pollock, who also expects to lose her SWIC job. Five college students now are involved. All work as tutors in Belleville School District 118 schools.
Millions in grants terminated
The Washington Post first reported on Friday that DOGE, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, had ordered AmeriCorps to terminate close to $400 million in grants, roughly 41% of the agency’s total grant funding.
“The decision to eliminate millions of dollars in grants affects 1,031 organizations and 32,465 AmeriCorps members and senior volunteers (across the country),” sources told the newspaper.
The cuts are part of an ongoing effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce the federal workforce and other spending to eliminate government fraud and waste.
On Tuesday, people who tried to access the AmeriCorps website received the message, “The request is blocked.”
Pollock, the Bellevile AmeriCorps field coordinator, had wondered if DOGE scrutiny would affect the local operation, but she convinced herself that it couldn’t happen, until Monday.
“There is so much documentation, so much paperwork, that we do to verify the hours that people work,” Pollock said. “The idea that there’s overspending is just unreal to me.”
Camille Scott, director of East St. Louis AmeriCorps, also got an email with news of the cuts on Monday night. Kristen Bethke, AmeriCorps program manager for the Illinois Department of Human Services, wrote that its grant had been terminated, “effective immediately.”
On Tuesday, Scott got emotional during a BND phone interview. She explained that she had spent the day telling 40 workers in AmeriCorps programs, both full-time and part-time, that they no longer had incomes.
Scott also is director of volunteers at Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House. She said AmeriCorps workers were key to a wide range of programs for senior citizens and children, including Meals on Wheels, the Seasoned Circle Cafe, a food pantry and after-school programs.
“We would like the public to know that we’re going to do our best to keep our pantry open, although we may go down to limited days that we’re open,” Scott said. “We’re going to keep serving our seniors.”
Belleville mayor-elect involved in '90s
AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency focused on volunteerism and community service. Established by President Bill Clinton in 1993, it was loosely based on the Great Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. Many Republicans opposed it as wasteful spending on “make work.”
The first AmeriCorps group in Belleville included City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer, who will be sworn in as mayor on Wednesday. She said the experience helped her earn extra money for college and paved the way for a life of government service and volunteerism.
“It’s a great program for everyone involved,” Meyer said Tuesday. “The community wins and so do the (workers).”
AmeriCorps was set up so that workers earned a “living allowance,” depending on the number of hours they committed to work during a specified period. That was about $600 a month for Gillham, who signed up for 450 hours from September through May.
Some workers also received education awards that could be used to pay college tuition or repay student loans. Gillham plans to transfer to McKendree University and earn a special-education degree.
Pollock said it was unfair to abruptly terminate AmeriCorps grants when student workers were only weeks away from fulfilling their contracts and getting their education awards.
“It’s sad for the country, it’s sad for Belleville, and it’s sad for the (students) who have worked really hard all year,” she said.
Gary Gaston, CEO of Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House, released a statement to East St. Louis residents on Tuesday, warning that the AmeriCorps cuts will particularly hurt senior citizens.
Gaston said workers provided “life-sustaining” companionship, wellness checks, transportation and meal deliveries.
Gaston asked for community “intervention,” calling on federal, state and local leaders to work swiftly to ensure that needs continue to be met in East St. Louis and elsewhere.
“We remain steadfast in our mission,” he wrote. “We are actively seeking alternative funding, rallying community support, and advocating for the resources necessary to continue this essential work. However, the abruptness of this decision has left little time to bridge the gap.”
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Teri Maddox is a reporter for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
