Full Disclosure: This coverage was published on WGLT by the same author. One of more than 1,000 “Hands Off!” rallies across the country took place in downtown Bloomington Saturday afternoon to oppose the government's agenda regarding cuts to the federal government and concerns about human rights under President Donald Trump's leadership. Hundreds of protesters filled the south lawn outside the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. “Hands Off!” is a nationwide effort that seeks to give power to U.S. citizens who oppose joint efforts by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to make policy changes which would affect citizens’ rights. Crowd members of all ages held signs with written messages such as, “Don’t Turn Your Back on Humanity” and “Make America Moral Again.” "I'm seeing history repeating itself right now where real fascist ideals are being pushed on a democratic country," said attendee Todd Peterson. "I really feel we're going to have to take a stand on this." Peterson said the large crowd size was what he had hoped to see. The progressive advocacy group Voices of Reason, a local chapter of Indivisible, organized the rally, which included several speakers. “There are corporate-backed politicians and billionaires trying to gut the programs that keep our families and communities afloat. They are doing it behind closed doors with lobbyists whispering in their ears while telling the rest of us, ‘There’s not enough to go around,’” said McLean County Board member and newly-elected Normal Township Supervisor, Krystle Able, a Democrat. Able called out Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood for “voting in favor of policies that would weaken Social Security and Medicare while protecting tax breaks for the wealthy.” Democratic State Rep. Sharon Chung for the 91st House District said Trump’s first four years in office were only a warm-up for what is to come. “We’re fighting for the soul and for the foundation of our country,” Chung said. “My parents were immigrants here—to the United States. This is not why they immigrated to the United States.” Chung gave congratulations to the United Faculty of Illinois State University for their agreement reached with the University’s administration, which was announced Friday evening. President of the Bloomington Education Association, Julie Riley, spoke about threats against schools and students at those schools. “As you know, our current president nominated and has seated a wrestling promotor to be the head of the Department of Education,” Riley said. “Wrestling is not the same as public education, folks.” Riley said students in need of speech support, social work minutes and physical therapy will be in danger of losing those services if their access to Medicaid is cut off. “Although our boards have been good to us, I don’t know what they’d do if they didn’t have federal funding to pay for special educators,” Riley said. “We don’t have the kind of money in our local school board budgets to make up that difference.” President of Bloomington's Prairie Pride Coalition, Dave Bentlin, wished to call out members of the LBTQIA+ community who don’t believe they are under serious threat. “This is just the start,” Bentlin said. “None of us [are] safe. They will come after all of us if we don’t take action.” Bentlin gave thanks to local businesses, namely Lucca Grill, who have supported the local LGBTQIA+ community. Bentlin said that before he arrived at the rally, he received a text message from another member of the LGBTQIA+ community who didn’t feel safe attending. “I honor that concern,” Bentlin said. The rally ended with the crowd participating in call-and-response chants and singing two songs, “This Land Is Your Land” and “We Shall Overcome.”

The United Faculty of Illinois State University (UFISU) announced that a full tentative agreement has been reached with the University's administration Friday evening. UFISU and the University administration reached a tentative agreement after a lengthy 16-hour meeting on Thursday immediately followed by another meeting on Friday. "This monumental achievement would not have been possible without the demonstrated collective power of all of you—our members, our union siblings, out students and our communities," the online announcement read. The announcement expressed appreciation for those who have supported UFISU's movement over the last 13 months. This story will be updated.

A 16-hour-long negotiation session between the United Faculty of Illinois State University (UFISU) and Illinois State University on Thursday did not result in an agreement. UFISU released an update on the bargaining process with ISU's administration for fair wages Friday morning. "As of today, the 650 tenured and tenure-line faculty in the union may legally strike at any time," read a statement released by UFISU on Friday. Associate Professor of the Department of Finance and Law and co-lead negotiator for UFISU, Tice Sirmans, was quoted in the update. Sirmans said the 16-hour meeting only created more distrust. "While the administration continues to insist that they are prioritizing student and faculty needs, their actions repeatedly prove otherwise. Rather than focus on bargaining a fair contract that helps to ensure a high-quality education for students, President Tarhule and his team are prioritizing research and trying to pit faculty against one another for meager raises in a Hunger Games-like scenario," Sirmans said. Sirmans said UFISU is prepared to strike next week if necessary. Several UFISU members formed a last-minute gauntlet as they met with administrators Friday morning for another negotiation session. UFISU also scheduled a rally for Friday evening, but it was canceled due to the weather. "Our power is strong, and the ISU Admin know we can mobilize at a moment's notice if we have to," the UFISU rally cancellation post read.

At 4 p.m. on Thursday, the United Faculty of Illinois State University (UFISU) held the Big Union Family Rally on Illinois State University’s Quad. It was the last day before the union was allowed to initiate a strike. Before the scheduled march around the Quad, speeches were given by members and special guests regarding the demand for a fair contract from the administration. One of the two final speakers included Illinois’ State Representative Sharon Chung. “I am a union member myself. I have a lot of friends here, and also my background comes from being a faculty member as well. I’m always going to be standing up for workers’ rights,” Chung said. The rallies over the last few weeks have grown in numbers. The rally held today had multiple new faces as families and friends joined in solidarity. Members from the non-tenure track faculty union, the graduate student union, the local teamsters, family members of UFISU and local K-12 teachers attended the rally to put pressure on the administration. “We invited people from the community, so people can bring their families and pets. We wanted to make sure that people knew that we’re there for them and we appreciate everyone attending,” Special Education Associate Professor Mark Zablocki said. According to a media release from ISU, the university and the union met for the 46th negotiation session on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The university presented an enhanced on-the-record economic proposal, as well as an on-the-record proposal on definitions. There were off-the-record topics discussed afterwards. These negotiations did little to increase the hope of an agreement for UFISU. “The goal today is to send a clear message to the administration that the faculty are not going to be pushed around,” UFISU Professor Keith Pluymers said. “We’re not going to see this university put a system that devalues student learning at every turn by telling us that if we focus on teaching, we don’t deserve to get paid a raise that keeps up with inflation.” Bargaining table sessions between UFISU and ISU have been long and grueling, as most sessions have gone for hours on end. A majority of the UFISU members have numerous emotions about the lack of response from the university administration regarding a contract. However, the support from the campus and Bloomington-Normal’s community has kept UFISU’s spirits lifted. “I think people are anxious and frustrated, but also really excited and feeling heartened by events like this, where community support is so obvious. We feel like we really have a big, diverse group behind us,” Assistant History Professor Taylor Soja said. Many students attended the rally in support of their professors and colleagues in UFISU. Freshman music education majors Nick Sleevar and Nathan James emphasized the importance of supporting the faculty. “We’re both future teachers and this concerns us; this is the well-being not only for us, but for our future students,” Sleevar said. “Not even just for teachers. It’s important for people to be unionized and to have a voice for their own contracts and their pay,” James said. The march began at approximately 4:37 p.m., and concluded at five. Members marched with signs that read “Take care of my dad, so he can take care of his students” and “Pay faculty, not lawyers.” Tension hung in the air after the group distributed. “We’re all feeling a lot of stress because we don’t want to go on strike. We are feeling sick at the decisions coming from President Tarhule and the whole administration team,” Pluymers said. “They look at [students] as nothing more than tuition dollars. We look at [students] as people, and we hope [they] understand the difference…We are absolutely fed up.”

Illinois State University students made their voices heard Tuesday during this year's McLean County municipal election. On the ballot for the April 1 election were Bloomington and Normal mayors, city councils, school boards, township leaders, community college boards and other local offices. The elections were sponsored by the Center of Civic Engagement, where voting commenced in the Founders Suite of the Bone Student Center. Celeste Brennan, a volunteer for the Center of Civic Engagement, shared the importance of voting for politicians who keep the public in mind. “Mayors are really important, especially in our town where there are two towns together and each is different,” Brennan said. “Each mayor has a different outlook, and just like any other election, you hope to have a mayor in office who is looking out for you.” Voter turnout in local elections is historically lower compared to the presidential and congressional elections, yet many students understood the importance of making their voices heard. “As a citizen of the United States, that’s my civic duty,” said Julia Gancarz, a sophomore French educational major. “It is my job to make sure the town I live in gets my vote, and I can get what I want.” “Local elections are important since it’s the fact that you live in that neighborhood that affects you the most,” said Estefani Lopez, a senior history and political science major. “You need to make your voice heard.” “If you want local change, going out and voting in local elections is what’s going to do that,” said Ari Palma, a senior social work major. Despite recent on-campus political turmoil following November’s presidential election, Center of Civic Engagement staff member Caitlin Bradford was satisfied with the student voter turnout. “The interest really seems to be there this year, which I’m happy about because oftentimes with consolidated elections, the turnout is usually lower than general or even midterm elections,” Bradford said. “I’m happy with how it went and we’re just happy to see students here and voting.” At the polling booths, students voiced their opinions on what needs improvement with new leaders at the helm. “I definitely think more money needs to go out to our roads. We’ve got a lot of really bad streets in town,” said Nate Eagles, a sophomore English education major. “I live out west too, so on my drive home near Rivian, there’s a lot of bad [roads].” Palma said she desires enhanced resources for immigrants and people of color in McLean County. “There’s so many different populations in this area that could definitely be built upon,” Palma said. “A lot of places and services only speak in English, [so] being able to have that diversity and showing that [you care] is important.” Students also highlighted the importance of voting as college students since legislative representation can have a direct impact on their field of study. “With my major, I’m going into education and I’m from here in town,” Eagles said. “I think the 1% sales tax increase is probably a good idea for our public schools, so I wanted to support it.” “I want to support the school boards here in town,” said Julie Webb, a freshman elementary education major. “I wanna be a teacher, so obviously it’s important for me to vote.” Tuesday’s election saw many students perform their civic duty, proving that local elections continue to matter, especially when they hit so close to home.

The Illinois State University Queer Coalition hosted its fourth annual Transgender Day of Visibility Sashay on Monday. The sashay was co-sponsored by Pride for the second time with support from McLean County’s Prairie Pride Coalition. Transgender Day of Visibility is celebrated on March 31. The Human Rights Campaign describes the day as “a day to celebrate and honor the resilience of transgender and non-binary people.” Attendees were made up of students, faculty and community members. “Trans Day of Visibility is a day of celebration to highlight the trans people in our community and to support them,” Queer Coalition Co-President Karmine Beecroft said. Senior psychology major and Pride President Abby Odelson described what message they want people to take from this effort. “It's about remembering how far we’ve come. Even if it’s just a personal progress [and] even if there are some things that are going backward, there are things that are progressing, and I think it's important to remember that,” Odelson said. An anonymous student expressed satisfaction with the event in regards to their career path. “As a special education major, I work with kids who are discriminated against. I have a trans student, and I think it is very important for me to be a voice for them,” the student said. Attendees gathered back in the Watterson Towers Rosa Parks Conference room to hear from Interim Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Byron Craig, Queer Coalition Co-President Brie Byers and Odelson. “Here at ISU, we’re committed to ensuring that visibility is not just symbolic because to be visible, one should also be supported,” Craig said. Odelson and Byers also made testimonies. “I encourage you all to be allies and advocates wherever you go because if we don't have each other's back, who will?” Byers said.