CHICAGO (WLS) — In Chicago Wednesday, opponents to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending mega-bill gathered downtown to raise concerns and call on Congress to vote it down.

Trump’s bill is now in the hands of the House of Representatives with a good deal of uncertainty about its future.

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There is a lot of political pressure being exerted on both sides of the debate on the bill.

President Trump and his allies are working to keep Republicans in line, while Democrats and their supporters are battling with all they’ve got to block it.

Pastors and politicians joined forces on Federal Plaza earlier Wednesday to send a clear message to Congress about the president’s so-called big beautiful bill.

“This bill is not beautiful and is not particularly complicated. It is reverse Robin Hood. It is taking from the poor and giving to the rich,” the Rev. Marshall Hatch said.

Demonstrators renamed the mega-bill the “bad ugly bill.”

“Let me be clear: We do not care what party you belong to. If you support this bill, you will see us in your offices, at your town halls and your streets,” said Artinese Myrick, with Live Free.

There are concerns about how the bill would cut nutritional food assistance for the needy.

“We run a food pantry on 79th Street right now. By the end of each week, we run out of food. When the SNAP cuts and the Medicaid cuts go through, we will turn away probably approximately three to 400 people a week that we can no longer feed,” said Fr. Mike Pfleger, with St. Sabina Church.

The bill takes a knife to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, broadening work requirements for recipients, and for the first time, forcing many states to cover part of benefit costs. Though supporters say that will reduce fraud, some worry many will be left hungry and stores will close, especially in food desert communities.

Rev. Stephen Thurston/New Covenant Baptist Church

“When you starve three million families through SNAP cuts, you’re not governing. You’re engineering mass casualty events,” said Rev. Stephen Thurston with New Covenant Baptist Church.

Republicans tout the fact the bill will eliminate taxes on tips and overtime.

“This may not be perfect for everybody. But, overall, it’s going to do a lot to get the economy back on track, to put more money in the pockets of working people,” said Republican Rep. Darin LaHood, who represents central and northwestern Illinois.

There are also concerns about cuts to Medicaid and the fallout for safety net hospitals. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will cost 11.8 million Americans their health care coverage over the next decade.

“If you’re a young mother raising young children and you’re on Medicaid, your Medicaid benefits are not going to change or be altered. If you’re a senior citizen and this is the only thing you rely on, is Medicaid, that’s not going to be altered or changed,” LaHood said.

LaHood says Medicaid will be cut for non-citizens and for able-bodied adults who can work.

“When people say, ‘Are you cutting Medicaid?’ Yes we are, for illegal immigrants, and we’re moving people off Medicaid to a job,” LaHood said.

Safety net hospitals in Chicago are issuing a warning about the cuts.

Officials at Roseland Community Hospital say, if the president’s bill goes through, Roseland, and smaller hospitals like it, will be forced to close. They say that will result in the loss of lives.

Wednesday was a quiet day at Roseland Community Hospital’s emergency room. Doctors and nurses said it’s the calm before the storm for what is expected to be a busy holiday weekend.

While the community hospital is not a level one trauma center, it is the closest hospital for poor neighborhoods on the city’s Far South Side.

“Patients walk in through the front door with a gunshot, and we’re able to save that life by stabilizing the patient and getting them to appropriate level of care,” Dr. Khurram Khan said.

Seventy five percent of Roseland’s patients are on Medicaid.

Community and rural hospitals who rely on federal funding to keep their doors open could close, if Trump’s bill passes, hospital leadership says.

“As CEOs, leaders and administrators of safety net hospitals, rural hospitals, we feel as though we’re facing the firing squad. This is death. This will bring death. There’s no doubt about it,” Roseland Community Hospital CEO Tim Egan said.

Egan says community hospitals are already financially struggling.

“We’ve got debts to nurse agencies that are overwhelming. So, we can’t survive right now. So $1 cut means absolutely devastation for our safety net,” Egan said.

Egan is taking aim at Republicans who support the president’s bill, specifically LaHood.

“He is a coward, and he has turned his back on his constituents and our state,” Egan said.

If Roseland Hospital is forced to close, it not only takes away medical care, but close to 1,000 full-, part-time and contract employee jobs.

“We’re the number one healthcare provider for the greater Roseland area. We are the primary care provider,” Egan said. “We will have to absolutely shut down every service line.”

Many live in the neighborhood. In addition, the hospital serves as a community hub: A small food pantry is placed near Roseland’s front door.

“Turkey days, toys days, coat giveaway, jackets giveaway, so, you know, the hospital is going to really not exist with this bill,” Khan said. “We’re going to have a whole community that’s going to lose a place where they’re employed and also where they come to for all, a lot of their needs.”

If community hospitals close, patients will be forced to travel to bigger hospitals, such as Christ, University of Chicago or Northwestern.

Doctors fear some critical patients won’t make it in time.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are vowing to fight.

“We are fighting for everyone in this bill, in this place. But let’s go, and let’s go vote hell no on the betrayal bill of Donald Trump,” said Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez, who represents Chicago and the west suburbs.

What’s not clear is when there will be a vote on the bill.

Speaker Mike Johnson does not want to make any changes because then it would have to go back to the Senate for another vote.

So, for now, the standoff on Capitol Hill continues.