A bus full of senior citizens from The Merion senior living community arrived at Evanston’s Social Security Administration office Thursday. But they weren’t there to apply for benefits — they were there to protest.
More than 70 people rallied on the sidewalks of Green Bay Road to support their local Social Security office and urge the federal government to keep field offices open amid growing worries of funding cuts and closures.
“We can’t have a Social Security Administration without administrators,” Evanston resident Susan Clabby said. “It’s not waste, fraud and abuse to have people working to handle our benefits.”
In March, the Associated Press reported that dozens of Social Security offices are expected to close this year due to Department of Government Efficiency actions to reduce the size of the federal government.
The Social Security Administration denied these claims in a March news release and said the administration “has not permanently closed or announced the permanent closure of any local field office” since the beginning of 2025.
Still, some residents worry about the future of Social Security and potential funding cuts and closures.
On Wednesday, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), signed a letter urging SSA Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek to keep field offices open.
The letter listed all SSA field offices, including Evanston’s. It also asked Dudek to identify which offices — if any — the SSA intends to close.
Social Security Works, a national organization that advocates for the protection and expansion of Social Security, called on people across the country to deliver the letter to their local Social Security offices. In Evanston, Susan Clabby answered the call, hand-delivering the letter to the Evanston office at Thursday’s rally.
“No one has said which offices are on the chopping block,” Clabby said. “We had a hunch because this one’s so small that it might be on that list.”
At Clabby’s request, local advocacy group Indivisible Evanston organized the rally to support the local office and protest closures.
A chapter of the national Indivisible organization, Indivisible Evanston has been active since 2017, committed to resisting Republican agendas and fighting for progressive policies. Its local Hands Off! rally drew in more than 1,000 people earlier this month.
“It’s part of Musk and Trump’s power grab overall,” said Candace Davis, a member of the Indivisible Evanston leadership team. “So it’s just one more opportunity for us to stand up and say, stop it.”
Evanston resident Leigh Bailey, who attended Thursday’s rally, said when she and her husband moved to Evanston three years ago, they came to the Evanston Social Security office to update their information.
She said these local offices provide important services for the community, and she worries they might be next on the chopping block for the Trump administration.
“I have very good friends who live only on their Social Security, and what’s going to happen to that?” Bailey said.
Bailey added that for seniors who don’t drive anymore, it can be difficult to get transportation to faraway Social Security offices. That’s why local offices like the one in Evanston are so critical, she said.
Protesters waved homemade posters as many passing cars honked in approval. Some held signs that said “no cuts” or “hands off Social Security.”
More than just advocating for Social Security, for many, the rally was an opportunity to unite against the Trump administration’s policies.
“Its not what anybody — all these retired people — want to do, but we’ve got to fight back,” Davis said. “Because what’s our other choice? And what are we going to tell our grandkids if we don’t?”
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