Ultimately it was the 'oligarchs' who argued in favor of the progressive agenda. Wall Street created the 3rd central bank, the US Federal Reserve. The AMA closed all of the mutual aid societies and their hospitals. Railroad barons lobbied for subsidies and price controls to eliminate their competitors. Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany, "The world must be made safe for democracy"

Of course no would be authoritarian claims more power without claiming that they are doing it for the greater good or to attack the rich classes. The Progressive Era was smorgasbord of special interest handouts and grants to cartels. All of this was lobbied for by oligarchs.

Is this common? People think "progressive" means "complete government control"?

Progressives support regulations to prevent both public and private entities from becoming too powerful. It's not like they want to give the government authoritarian control lol.