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 As many as 140,000 Illinois food stamp recipients who are
younger, able-bodied and don’t support children will either enter the work force
or potentially be disqualified from receiving aid in 2020.
Initially about 50,000 able-bodied Cook County residents receiving benefits
through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, were subject to
the tightened rules starting Jan. 1 because unemployment was so low, according
to the Chicago Tribune. The Trump Administration announced Dec. 4 it was making
it harder for states to get waivers to the work rules, which Illinois has
obtained since the rules started in 1996. By April 1 as many as 140,000 of the
state’s 1.8 million SNAP recipients may need to work, volunteer or receive job
training for at least 80 hours per month to continue receiving food benefits.
SNAP recipients “who are able-bodied, under the age of 50” and do not have any
dependents at their home will face the work rules. Among those recipients,
benefits will be limited to three months in a three-year period unless they
maintain employment.
These changes differ slightly from the ones proposed by the Trump Administration
in January, which would have only affected Illinois SNAP recipients in Cook
County.
The majority of Illinois’ 1.8 million SNAP enrollees are either children,
elderly or disabled, according to the Tribune. Those participants will not be
affected under the new rules. Nationwide, the rules will require work from about
688,000 of the 36 million total SNAP recipients, saving as much as $5.5 billion
over five years.
Illinois’ unemployment rate fell below 4% in September for the first time in
decades, signaling an increase in participation in the state’s labor force even
as the size of that labor force continued to shrink. Despite declining
unemployment, Illinois has had a higher percentage of its population dependent
on food stamps than any neighboring state at 14%, according to the most recent
data from August 2019.
Illinois typically requested a waiver from the federal government’s work
requirements for the entire state. Currently, federal law disqualifies an area
from those waivers when their unemployment rate falls within 20% of the national
average over a two-year period, according to the Tribune.
The new rules lower that threshold, allowing work requirement waivers only for
areas that have sustained an average unemployment rate 6% higher than the
national average over two-year period. Cook County’s two-year average
unemployment rate is currently 3.9%, just under the national two-year average of
4%.
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In 2018, DuPage County became the first Illinois
county to lose the ability to waive federal work requirements due to
low unemployment. A representative for the DuPage Federation on
Human Services Reform told the Tribune in November that an estimated
2,000 DuPage recipients lost their benefits after that change. He
attributed that outcome to insufficient work hours and barriers to
employment for recipients with criminal backgrounds and low
educational attainment, among other challenges.
While it’s likely the most effective reforms for increasing access
to higher education and vocational training must come at the federal
level, state leaders in Illinois could do more to rehabilitate those
with criminal records and help them re-enter the workforce. A
sensible first step would be to reduce the length of time the state
requires nonviolent ex-offenders to wait before petitioning the
courts to have their criminal records sealed.
Another factor limiting SNAP recipients’ job prospects could be lack
of economic opportunity. While higher labor force participation is
worth cautious optimism, the state’s tepid jobs growth is
concerning. Illinois’ heavy tax burden and unfriendly regulatory
environment have discouraged investment in the state, resulting in a
rate of job creation – and creation of new employers – that has
trailed most of the nation.
While business creation rates across the country have been dropping,
the decline has been even more pronounced in Illinois. This is
especially true of small businesses – or businesses with 50
employees or fewer – which are Illinois’ leading source of job
creation.
Since 2011, the U.S. has created small businesses at a rate of 8.3%,
more than double the rate of Illinois’ statewide rate of 3.9%. In
2018 alone, Illinois shed 4,666 small businesses, a 2.9% decline.
Some argue that work requirements for food stamp recipients can
encourage valuable training that ultimately allows them to achieve
economic mobility. But ultimately, it’s the job of lawmakers in
Springfield’s to foster a climate that creates jobs, rather than
chases them away.
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