Terminated Peoria Ag Lab employees could return to work following a ruling
One of those joining the movement was U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who spoke against cuts to research staff at the Ag Lab in Peoria.
Durbin, the state's senior senator, stood outside the Ag Lab, formally known as the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research to urge people to speak out against the cuts to the facility as well as others nationwide.
'I'm calling on all of the major farm groups in Illinois and farmers as well to stand up for the Ag Lab in Peoria,' the Illinois Democrat said.
Durbin also called on U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Peoria Republican, to advocate for the roughly 20 workers who were laid off last month from the research facility.
'I hope Darin LaHood supports this lab, and I hope he'll support the men and women who work here,' Durbin said.
Ethan Roberts leads the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) local 3247. That's the union that represents more than 80 workers at the Ag Lab.
Roberts said the Merit System Protection Board, a federal agency that provides a safeguard for federal employees, ruled Wednesday the thousands of workers laid off from the USDA must be reinstated within five days and provide proof to the board that they have done so.
He said what it would mean to have the employees who were let go from the lab back to work.
'They'll be able to resume the very important projects that they were working on, for one,' he said. 'It would also be a great morale boost for the building because then we know that, at least legally, we have the protections that we were guaranteed on our side, that instead of worrying about our jobs every day, we can actually do our jobs.'
When WMBD last spoke to Roberts immediately after the initial layoffs, he expected more employees to be terminated in the weeks following his interview. He said none have been let go since.
If the employees return to work, there would most likely be, Roberts said, reduction in force, which he described as 'a highly complex and very specific procedure outlined in statute on how federal employees are supposed to be terminated in mass.'
The MSPB asked for the names of the thousands of terminated workers, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel asked for a 45-day stay for the employees, which would allow them to legally work and fulfill a legal layoff.
Hampton Dellinger issued a statement on the U.S. Office of Special Counsel website explaining the counsel's move to ask for the stay.
'OSC requested this stay because the thousands of probationary terminations at USDA appear to have been carried out in a manner inconsistent with federal personnel laws,' Hampton said.
Dellinger has since ended his legal appeal after his firing by President Donald Trump.
Roberts explained what this could mean for the employees of the Ag Lab.
'There's no Office of Special Counsel person in place, and whoever is going to replace him will be appointed by the Trump administration, which does not give me hope that the permanent decision as to whether or not these employees should be reinstated will be in favor of the employees,' he said.
Last month, we spoke with Dr. Jeannie Klein-Gordon, who was a research plant pathologist at the Ag lab before she was laid off. She expressed her worry in the press conference today about what the layoffs could mean on the grand scale of science.
'If we don't stand up now and stop what's happening here and elsewhere, I'm personally afraid that our America that is home to what I truly believe is the best in the world for agriculture and science will be no more,' Klein-Gordon said.
We also spoke to Bri Walker, a secretary at the lab who was also laid off. She said in the presser that the lab is much more than just the work that is done there.
'The Ag lab produces not only an economic value for Peoria in terms of the research it does, the partnerships formed and the technology transfers, but in inspiring the next generation of scientists,' Walker said.
Walker also noted how crucial science is for the future of the country.
'The American people cannot continue to live prosperous, productive lives without science, and science can't continue without the next generation of scientists.'
A reduction in force typically and legally requires a 90-day notice.
We have reached out to Congressman LaHood's office for comment and have not yet heard back.
This is a developing story.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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On Trump's sweeping tax and spending law known as the 'big, beautiful bill,' one person asked what is being done to protect individuals who are not wealthy, raising concerns that tax breaks under the legislation will only accrue to higher-earners. The congressman responded, 'In part, I would disagree with the way you framed it. As I look at the provisions of the bill, and what was in large part done, was keeping the 2017 tax reforms in place, that's the bulk of the bill,' but was soon interrupted by shouting from the crowd. He added, 'It builds onto that additional tax reforms for hard-working families.' Towards the end of the event, a man jumped up from his seat to question Steil on the war in Gaza. 'Two million people in Gaza are starving – what do you have to say about that?' the man shouted, then stood up and waved his arms in the air. A police officer approached the man, who then sat back down. The officer appeared to say something to the man and then walked away. Shortly after the outburst, a different audience member pressed the congressman to answer the earlier question. 'To me, the easy answer to address this crisis is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages. That ends the war tomorrow,' Steil said. 'Israel was unfairly, unjustly attacked, their civilians were killed and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.' Steil said, 'Israel has a right to defend itself,' but paused amid shouting from the crowd. Soon after, amid continued disruptions from the audience, the moderator moved to conclude the event, saying 'We're gonna close it off here because there's no point in continuing.' Separately, Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat, told a crowd at a different event Thursday night he knew it was 'a little douchey' to hold a town hall in the Wisconsin congressional district – and hometown – of neighboring Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden. But Van Orden is 'missing in action,' refusing to hold town halls of his own, and Democrats need to push back harder against the GOP's massive tax and domestic policy bill, Pocan said. 'I think doing, bluntly, town halls in Republican districts where they refuse to do them is one of the best things we can do,' Pocan said. He called himself an 'early adopter' of the tactic and said other progressive lawmakers are following suit. 'I think this is what we need to do. I mean, is this in your face. Is this a little douchey? Yes,' he said. 'But you know what? Taking away your health care and taking away your education funding and adding $4 trillion to the national debt so that the richest people are getting a tax cut is enough that we need to push back.' Pocan told CNN after the town hall that he'd come to Prairie du Chien to goad Van Orden into publicly defending the GOP bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. 'Come on down the road, Derrick,' he said. 'If you really think this bill's as good as you've been saying it is, not in front of people, let's have an actual debate. Let's talk about the various parts of it. The fact he won't doesn't pass the Wisconsin smell test.' Pocan's hour-long town hall, in front of an audience of about 50 people in the town of about 5,000 was a friendly one with none of the fiery exchanges that other town halls across the nation have featured. Pocan was asked questions largely from the left, about ways Democrats can be more aggressive in taking on Trump. He was also asked about immigration policies, the sustainability of Social Security and Medicare, and about whether he fears Trump will declare martial law and cancel upcoming elections. He focused most of his comments on railing against Trump's so-called 'big, beautiful bill' — but peppered the entire hour with jabs at Van Orden for failing to host town halls. Van Orden's office did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Pocan's town hall. CNN's Eric Bradner contributed to this report.
