Were you there?

On April 21, AFSCME and our partners in the Responsible Budget Coalition made history. We packed the streets around the state capitol with a crowd estimated at 15,000 people who marched and shouted their support for a budget that protects vital public services and jobs. We demanded that legislators act now to raise the revenue needed to prevent draconian budget cuts.

If you were there, you helped to send a powerful message to Illinois lawmakers--one that echoed across the nation. Media outlets statewide and around the country provided compelling reports and stirring images of the day's activities, beginning with personal portraits of those boarding the hundreds of buses that traveled to Springfield in the early dawn hours and concluding with the massive, spirited march that encircled the entire perimeter of the Capitol.

If you were there, you stood with more than 4,000 of your fellow AFSCME members, along with teachers, disability advocates, child care providers, religious groups and many more of our allies in the Responsible Budget Coalition in one of the largest demonstrations Springfield has ever seen.

If you were there, click here to share your story. We'll post the best recollections here on the AFSCME website and excerpt them in On the Move.

If you were there, you saw this stirring speech from AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer:

 

If you were there, click here to receive a special memento of the historic day.

But whether or not you were able to be there, your involvement is key as we continue the battle for a fair budget. There is still much work to be done to convince legislators that they must act to prevent the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and severe damage to vital services.

The rally put our cause front and center. Now we need to build on that momentum. Call your legislators to reinforce the message.

No doubt about it, we've shaken up the political status quo in Illinois. And we can't stop now. We're tired of politicians who only worry about keeping their jobs. It's time to demand that they actually do their jobs--and raise the revenue needed to get our state back on track.

Relive the rally -- or see it for the first time -- in these photos from the Responsible Budget Coalition: