We asked readers how a second Trump presidency will affect them and their communities. Here’s what you said, lightly edited for clarity:
“Our state and city will suffer because the governor and mayor were some of the loudest in opposition to President-elect Trump. Federal resources will be limited.”
—Bill Klosa
“I fear I may lose my human rights as a woman and a gay person.”
— Hannah Norris
“If the Left allows him to do his job without dealing with riots and constant attacks comparing him to Hitler and that nonsense, we will be in fantastic shape at the end of his term. Safe, peaceful and prosperous.”
—Frank Mandros
“Probably very little. State and local officials have a much bigger impact on my neighborhood than president does.”
— Richard Reinhold
“Cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Because of the tariffs, things are going to be much more expensive. … Expecting a recession.”
— Dean Showalter, 74, Northwest suburbs
“Everybody is going to have more money, and life is going to be better.”
— Rich Piet
“Looking forward to $1.87 a gallon for gas.”
—Marie Rivas-Yazzie
“There will most definitely not be reductions to prices because presidents don’t affect prices.”
—Jay B. O’Neal
“I went to work Wednesday at the UPS loading facility and found the majority of my hard-working co-workers in a very jovial mood not afraid to express their joy at Trump being elected. Prior to this day though no ever brought it up.”
—Cornelius Dylan
“He’s not even in office yet and my 401(k) took a huge leap.”
—Jay Paschen
“Economic devastation is likely to hit virtually every Chicago neighborhood as Trump pursues his revenge politics against a city he hates. The human cost will be even worse as Trump rounds up people — migrants, critics and opponents — in concentration camps in preparation for deportation.”
—Craig Barner, 60, Lincoln Square
“I was planning on retiring in January, but that’s probably not going to happen now.”
— Doris Mernack
“As a pre-K teacher, I worry about our children and their working low-income parents, and as the caregiver for my 81-year-old mom I worry her benefits will be cut. She gets a decent retirement but it is supplemented by Social Security, and medication costs are already ridiculous. I feel for Black and Brown people. It will hurt us the most, but at this point, what can I do?”
— Sherronda Bohanon
“I recently finished paying off a loan to make ends meet as a result of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. I pray I don’t have to do so again.”
— Drew Love, 54, Riverside
“Any federal program that benefits the people will be on the chopping block. I will particularly miss OSHA and the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. They go to bat for the workers who have been been exploited by unscrupulous employers.”
—Bob Zuley, 66, Lake View
“It’ll just compound the hate.”
—Dennis Novak
“I am rethinking my choice to start a family with my partner in case of a national abortion ban.”
— Jenna