Nearly 2 million Illinoisians set to lose SNAP benefits amid
congressional stalemate
[October 21, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
Nearly 2 million people in Illinois could lose federal food benefits
ahead of Thanksgiving if Congress can’t agree on a budget by the end of
the month.
The Illinois Department of Human Services announced the U.S. Department
of Agriculture has told states that Supplement Nutrition Assistance
Program benefits will not be funded beginning Nov. 1 if the federal
government shutdown continues into a second month. About 1.9 million
people in Illinois receive SNAP benefits each month.
The federal government has been without a budget since Oct.1, making
virtually no progress in negotiations over health care issues causing
the stalemate. The shutdown is now one of the longest in history and if
it extends beyond Nov. 4, would become the longest ever, surpassing a
35-day shutdown in President Donald Trump’s first term.
“They’re refusing to save health care for 22 million Americans, and now
they’re willing to let 1.9 million Illinoisans — including children — go
hungry,” Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez
said in a statement. “Somehow, they can find the money to pay the ICE
agents who have terrorized our communities, but not to keep food on our
kids’ tables.”
Illinois administers $350 million in SNAP benefits each month to
low-income or other qualifying individuals. In Illinois, 45% of SNAP
households include children and 44% include a person with a disability,
according to IDHS.
Beneficiaries receive an average of $370 each month. The state expects
benefit disbursements to continue if a budget is passed by the end of
the month.
State’s limited options
SNAP benefits are currently entirely funded by the federal government,
which Gov. JB Pritzker said makes it hard for the state to cover if
funding is cut off.
[to top of second column]
|
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has told states SNAP benefits
will not be distributed in November if the federal government
shutdown does not end this month. (Capitol News Illinois photo by
Andrew Campbell)
“There is no reimbursement of the state if those SNAP benefits are
lost,” Pritzker told reporters in Moline on Friday. “I asked that
question immediately. There obviously is a big challenge for a lot of
families — hundreds of thousands of families — across Illinois.”
Pritzker said his administration is looking at ways it can help people
affected by the cut, but the state faces its own budget challenges,
partially because of federal policy changes Congress made earlier this
year. Pritzker has directed many state agencies to identify up to 4% of
spending that can be reserved this year, while his budget office’s
latest report indicates the state faces a more than $200 million deficit
in the current fiscal year 2026 and $2 billion shortfall in FY27.
“We’re trying to figure out what we can do and what we can afford to do
to support people, and how we might be able to support pantries,”
Pritzker said.
SNAP benefits will soon be partially the state’s responsibility. The
“One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Trump signed in July shifts half of
administrative costs to states beginning in October 2026.
In October 2027, states will also begin paying a portion of benefits
based on the state’s error rate of payments in prior years. States like
Illinois with a higher error rate on SNAP payments will have to cover a
greater portion of benefits. Illinois’ current error rate would put it
on track to pay $705 million for benefits when the new policy takes
effect.
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. |
