Fate of Rockford Social Security office unclear for workers, recipients 2 weeks after being listed for potential closure

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The union representing workers at the city’s Social Security Administration Office says they’re waiting for information on the fate of the office now two weeks after it was listed for closure as part of DOGE’s cost-cutting plans.

The office at 502 E. Jefferson St. employs about 30 people and welcomes more than 47,500 in-person visits a year, according to the Social Security Administration’s most-recent local data from 2016. That’s about 130 per people a day.

Workers have not received any notice of closure at this point, like they did when the White Plains, New York, office was shuttered, said Jessica LaPointe, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220.

First Midwest Group, which owns the building and leases it to the federal government, said it could not comment.

If it closed, it would make Rockford the largest metropolitan area in the state without a Social Security office, Mayor Tom McNamara said Wednesday at a rally across the street from the local office.

“That cannot be acceptable,” he said.

A few dozen people huddled away from the rain under a gazebo in Haight Park across from the office to push back against what they see as an effort to dismantle Social Security in the country. The rally was organized by Congressman Eric Sorensen and attended by McNamara, alderman elect Tamir Bell, and members of the Illinois Alliance of Retired Americans, Citizen Action Illinois and AFGE Council 220.

“The idea of government efficiencies, I think everyone is supportive of that,” McNamara said. “What they want to do is make all these supposed efficiencies on the backs of low- and moderate-income people so they can give a tax break to billionaires, and it’s not acceptable.”

President Trump’s administration has said it will not cut Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare. The president has said his office is focused on weeding out fraud and waste in the system, including nearly $72 billion in improper payments made between 2015 and 2022. That number comes from an August 2024 report from the Office of the Inspector General.

The office closures, meanwhile, are part of a larger effort to terminate leases and save taxpayers a combined $468 million, according to DOGE. The Rockford office has an annual lease cost of $36,768 and would result in total savings of $61,280, according to the DOGE website.

The Rockford office is one of 47 Social Security Administration field offices listed for closure on the website for DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency and shares a name with a cryptocurrency Elon Musk has a history of touting.

Local workers and politicians say they’ve received no information on the plan since the site was listed for closure.

“The administration is purposefully not giving any information to any members of Congress,” said Sorensen, who is also pushing a bill that would put a moratorium on field office closures until after Trump’s term ends. “They want us to be hamstrung. They want us to be disabled so we can’t help the people here. … If this was really about government efficiency, then the administration would be working with members of Congress to say, alright these are the steps in play so that we can take care of people.”

He said the office is necessary, not optional for many residents.

“I don’t believe this is a political issue at all. This doesn’t affect just the red houses or the blue houses, it affects all of us,” Sorensen said. “This is a time where we need to come together, where we need to decide that being caring people is way more important than the tribalism that people in Washington want us to be like.”

Gretchen Hudson, a 72-year-old Rockford resident, said the in-person visits are critical for some seniors.

“There are things that maybe I can’t articulate on the phone, but I can bring it  to you and you can see what I need,” she said. “We need the Social Security office. … Some people can’t even call, and if they do call they’re on the phone for hours and they still don’t get it done. We need to support our seniors, our parents, our grandparents.”

LaPointe said the field office closures are coming as the agency deals with other cutbacks as well.

“They’re making plans within the next two weeks to eliminate essential services on our 1-800 number, forcing America’s families and forcing America’s disabled and senior citizens to go into offices that may not be in existence in the near future,” she said.

Nearly 40% of seniors would fall into poverty without the benefit of Social Security, according to Anusha Thotakura, director of Citizen Action Illinois.

“Millions of families would struggle to keep food on the table and our entire economy would suffer,” she said. “This is more than a political issue: It is about dignity, security and honoring the contributions of hardworking Americans. … Social security is not a handout, you’ve earned it with every paycheck and any attempt to cut benefits or raise the retirement age is nothing short of theft.”

Bell, who will be Rockford’s youngest alderman at age 21, said that Rockfordians must keep the pressure up to ensure that local office remains open.

“The just relax mentality is a weapon. It’s a tool used to silence opposition, normalize harm and create space for those in power to tighten their grip,” he said. “But not here, not in Rockford, and not in Illinois. We will not relax. We will fight to protect our seniors and we’ll fight to protect our workers and every single person who relies on the services that are threatened to be stripped away.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas