A group of protesters confronted U.S. Rep. Mike Bost on Tuesday morning during his visit to O’Fallon as part of his southern Illinois tour celebrating the passage of the “One Big Beautiful” tax and spending cut bill.
The bill includes President Donald Trump’s budget priorities over the next 10 years. It passed with only Republican support in July.
Bost, R-Murphysboro, has been traveling his district this month to spotlight the tax breaks included in the bill: the elimination of federal taxes on overtime pay and tips, small business tax deductions, tax relief for manufacturers, and the child tax credit.
The protesters said they oppose the large spending cuts to social safety net programs in the bill that help fund tax breaks they say mainly benefit wealthy Americans. They pointed to the estimated $911 billion in cuts to Medicaid and the $186 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program projected over the next decade.
“Pretty much all of the (tax) cuts to the working class, everyone making less than $600,000, any benefit that is in there is offset by the obliteration of their social services,” protest organizer Robin Deguzman said in an interview.
Protesters said they hoped to ask Bost why he supported policies they believe will hurt constituents when he stopped at O’Fallon City Hall, but he didn’t speak with them. They shouted requests for an in-person town hall meeting as he left the building.
Bost spokesperson Kadin Asbery provided a written statement to the Belleville News-Democrat in response to a request for comment.
“The partisan activists who claim we’re running from our record should look at the hundreds of constituent meetings the congressman holds each year, as well as the telephone town halls, surveys, and mail updates we provide on major issues impacting Southern Illinois,” Asbery wrote in the statement.
“Telephone town halls reach more people and are more accessible to the rural communities Congressman Bost represents. He regularly hosts them, and gives due notice on social media.”
Asbery’s statement also addressed criticisms about Medicaid and SNAP cuts.
“Congressman Bost supports sensible reforms to preserve Medicaid and SNAP for many years to come,” Asbery stated. “It is not unreasonable to ask healthy, working age recipients without dependents to work part time, to look for a job, or to be engaged in a job training program. The goal is to empower as many people as possible to live free from government dependence while being there to support the families who truly need help.”
Protesters gather at City Hall for Bost visit
About a dozen protesters waited in the O’Fallon City Hall lobby for Bost to come out of a meeting with law enforcement there before a scheduled police ride-along with the congressman. O’Fallon Mayor Eric Van Hook described it as a private meeting requested by Bost’s office.
Protesters’ biggest question, they agreed, was: “When and where is your next in-person town hall,” which Patricia Dorsey, of Belleville, had written on a sign.
“He refuses to hold in-person town halls,” Dorsey said in an interview. “And it’s not just this cycle. It’s the way he operates. If you call his office, you will get a staffer, and the staffer will acknowledge what you’re saying, but you never get responses.”
Bost exited O’Fallon City Hall on Tuesday morning without stopping to talk to the protesters. The group followed him out the door and as he got into an O’Fallon police cruiser.
They shouted: “Mr. Bost, we’re here. We have some questions for you.” “How about a town hall meeting with all of us?” “When are you gonna meet with us, Mr. Bost?”
As the patrol car drove away, they chanted “Coward.”
Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4. Bost’s two-week tour across southern Illinois started Aug. 11 in Union County. His next stop will be in Breese and Nashville on Aug. 22.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Lexi Cortes is a reporter for the BND, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
