(Capital-Star photo)
Rural Illinoisans who voted for President Donald Trump are feeling a mix of emotions about his administration, as he has failed to reduce inflation and keep the cost of groceries, utilities, and other basic necessities low.
Rural folks had high hopes that Trump would keep his pledge to lower prices after the GOP got the most votes in Illinois in decades.
People like Mark Baker, a retired Factory worker from Waterman who relies on Social Security to buy food, voted for Trump in 2024 because they thought his expenses would be lower.
Baker added, “Eggs and milk were going up. It seemed like everything was over $5 before Biden left, and I can’t do that with the pennies I get.” “I really wanted to hear from (Trump) that he was lowering costs right after he was elected.”
Baker and others remarked that going to the grocery store is even more unpredictable for them. Baker says that in Waterman, a small town in DeKalb County, Illinois, an hour west of Chicago, the only two retailers within 20 minutes are a Casey’s gas station and a Dollar General, where prices have not gone down.
Baker remarked, “I want to go to the store and get some milk, but I still have to pay more than $5 for eggs.” “It’s not just the milk.” Pop keeps going up a little at a time, like 10 cents at a time, so you don’t notice.
Farmers are also having a hard time because of the Trump administration’s diplomatic decisions, such as tariffs that have made it more expensive to run a farm and made other countries cease buying American commodities. Kari Ruhl, whose family has soybean growers in DeKalb County, said that soybean farms that used to make more than double are now having a hard time breaking even.
Ruhl stated, “Now we’re worried that there won’t be a harvest next year if this keeps up.” “Your entire livelihood hinges on having a good year, so if that isn’t possible you got to change right away.”
Because of the Trump administration’s high tariffs, China stopped buying all American products in May 2025. This hit soybean farmers the most. Even though farmers were promised bailouts and China has started buying American goods again, some farmers say they are still unsure because the reimbursements are taking a long time to come through, and new tariffs are in place.
Ruhl added, “We’re not sure what will happen next.” “Farming is always risky.” You can’t always make money, but today it seems you have to work much harder to make even a tiny bit.
Baker also said he was worried about how Trump was dealing with European friends, stating that this kind of behaviour had never happened before.
“It was shocking for him to say things like that about our allies.” Baker added, “You’d never hear a president say this about an ally,” referring to Trump’s strong efforts to get Greenland. “He’s talking like he wants to get involved in a war.”
But not all of the people who voted for Trump dislike him. Anna Flammang, who lives in Sugar Grove, was shopping for groceries at a Dollar General store nearby and spoke nothing but good things about his leadership.
Flammang stated, “It’s great that we finally have a president who is willing to use his power to get things done.” “President Trump has cut government spending and sent a lot of criminals back to their home countries in just one year to make our country safer.”
The Trump administration’s numbers show that arrests of undocumented immigrants are much lower than expected and that more than 70% of those arrested have never been convicted of a crime.
Ruhl stated, “I really don’t know what we’re going to do this coming harvest.” “Trump needs to pay more attention to farmers and less to illegal immigrants. Otherwise, I don’t think we’ll have a farm.”
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