Trump administration blocks more than $400M in funding for Illinois
health programs
[March 28, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski, Jade Aubrey
SPRINGFIELD — President Donald Trump’s administration is pulling back
$477 million from Illinois that was to be used to prevent infectious
disease and treat mental health and substance abuse issues.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced this week the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking back $125 million
allocated to IDPH and 97 local health departments for infectious disease
prevention. Another $324 million appropriated by Congress for “future
use” in preventing and treating infectious disease also is being
blocked.
Separately, the Illinois Department of Human Services was notified this
week that $28 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services for mental health and substance use disorder treatment would be
terminated. The funds had been appropriated by Congress in the American
Rescue Plan Act for 77 Illinois community organizations providing mental
health and substance abuse treatment services to residents.
“This decision to terminate already awarded federal funding will cause
immeasurable harm and disruption to the health and safety of the people
of Illinois and generate larger expenses in the longer run,” Gov. JB
Pritzker said in a statement.
IDPH’s funding for infectious disease prevention will see a
“debilitating impact,” Director Sameer Vohra said in a statement. IDPH
has been using the funding to track the spread of diseases, invest in
lab upgrades, build up the public health workforce, and improve
vaccination efforts.
A report published Thursday by Trust for America’s Health, a non-profit
research organization, ranked states into one of three tiers based on
their preparedness for a public health emergency, and Illinois ranked in
the middle tier.
Illinois is one of 47 states with detailed “surge plans,” that outline
IDPH’s ability to handle a sudden surge in testing demand and implement
changes like reallocating staff and acquiring supplies, according to the
report.
Over the past decade, IDPH published several surge plans including an
“Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Response Plan” in 2019 and a
“Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan” in 2020.
A surge plan is a “critical indicator of a state’s emergency
preparedness” that demonstrates a state’s capabilities to tackle a
crisis, the report said.
It noted that seasonal flu vaccination rates also give an insight into
the state’s emergence response capabilities. According to IDPH, about
28% of Illinoisans received a flu shot for the current season.
IDPH also is keeping an eye on the spread of bird flu with the
now-ceased federal funds. Although the CDC says bird flu does not
currently pose a threat to humans, there is concern that interaction
between the seasonal flu virus and the bird flu virus might create a new
strain that could start human-to-human transmissions and increase the
risk of a pandemic, Vohra said in a February interview with Capitol News
Illinois.
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Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra is
pictured at a news conference in Springfield in May 2023. (Capitol
News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
Legal and budget impacts
Funding for IDPH’s and DHS’ programs was appropriated by Congress but is
now being rescinded by executive agencies. The Illinois Attorney
General’s Office has already sued the Trump administration over other
spending cuts, including on disaster funding, clean energy grants and
teacher preparation grants.
Funding for IDPH’s infectious disease prevention programs was
appropriated by Congress in the 2020 CARES Act — a law signed by Trump
designed to help businesses, individuals, and health care institutions
access funding during the height of the pandemic. Funding for DHS’
mental health and substance abuse program was appropriated by Congress
in the American Rescue Plan of 2021 — a wide-ranging stimulus bill
signed by President Joe Biden that included funding for programs
intended to alleviate effects of the pandemic.
“The State of Illinois will do everything in our power to restore this
vital federal funding and continue to invest in common sense public
health solutions to keep our state safe and healthy,” Pritzker said.
A judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s broad federal
spending freezes in January, but Illinois and other states have
continued to be notified that money already destined for the state’s use
is being rescinded.
The $477 million being pulled from IDPH and DHS is part of roughly $1.8
billion in federal funding the state is expecting to receive but remains
in limbo. It’s also the latest example of the state losing money that’s
already being put to use.
At the beginning of March, the Illinois Department of Agriculture
learned the Trump administration will not reimburse the state for costs
in the Illinois-EATS program incurred after Trump took office, leaving
the state without $18 million of reimbursements. The program provides
fresh food from Illinois farms to community distribution sites.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture terminated a $26.3 million grant
earlier this month to the Illinois State Board of Education that helped
Illinois schools and child care facilities buy locally grown fresh
produce from Illinois farmers for use in meals and snacks.
Other areas of funding also remain uncertain as federal judges issue
injunctions preventing the federal government from blocking funding
already obligated to states and the Trump administration changes course
about whether it will end or continue programs.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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