DeKALB — Around 90 people rallied at the intersection of Lincoln Highway and North 1st St. Friday, calling on policymakers in Springfield and Washington, D.C., to tax the wealthy and deliver on promised resources to Illinois public schools.
In part of International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, and a series of statewide demonstrations pushing Illinois to change its current tax code and eliminate tax breaks from the ultra wealthy to increase funding for education and services, participants rallied from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m on Friday around the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Clock.
Ralliers held signs criticizing tax policies and the inadequate funding of public schools, with signs reading “People over Profits” and “Fully Fund our Schools & Services.”
Members of the DeKalb County Democratic Party, the DeKalb Classroom Teachers’ Association (DCTA) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) attended the rally, with speakers from those groups discussing Illinois tax policies and the need for increased state support for public schools.
“This isn’t about politics, it’s about priorities,” DCTA co-president Dina Sweet said. “It’s about whether we invest in communities or continue to widen the gap between the wealthy and everyone else. It’s about whether lawmakers in Springfield and Washington, D.C., are willing to put people over profits. When schools are fully funded, when families are supported, that benefits us all. That is what a functioning society looks like.”
Keith Nyquist, executive vice-president for University Professionals of Illinois Local 1400 and executive board member of the IFT, said the state of Illinois has failed to support higher education.
“The state of Illinois has turned its back on our institutions of higher learning and the communities that are built up around them,” Nyquist said. “Over the last 20 years, Illinois has defunded higher education to the point where its financial commitment in terms of real dollars is the same now in 2026 as it was in 2023.”
Nyquist suggested implementing a “millionaire tax” could help bridge the funding gap in public schools and services. This proposed tax policy would impose an additional 3% tax on the net income of more than $1 million.
“To fix our roads, to fund the services our seniors need, to invest in the education that our children deserve and that we all benefit from, the state needs a millionaire’s tax,” Nyquist said. “Instead of investing in our students’ future, the rich are getting tax cuts and our universities are getting budget cuts and write-offs. It is successful in Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, California and other states. And we can do it here in Illinois.”
Sweet said the effects of underfunding public schools are visible in classrooms, from staffing shortages to a lack of basic materials.
“Day-to-day, it looks like empty classrooms with no teachers because we can’t get good, qualified candidates who want to participate in education anymore,” Sweet said. “It’s services that we can’t provide to some of our highest needs students. Sometimes, it’s basic materials that are difficult to find or access.”
Cynthia de Seife, DeKalb resident and an organizer of the rally, encouraged people to exercise their political power and advocate for themselves.
“In a Democratic Republic, it’s really the people who have the power,” de Seife said. “We have a lot of power. We just have to learn how to use it. We need to get ourselves educated. We need to understand the issues. We need to go out and vote.”
At 5:30 p.m., the demonstrators marched to the Lincoln Highway and North 4th St. intersection before returning to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Clock, where the rally ended.