Gov. JB Pritzker joined both Illinois senators and the state’s Democratic congressional delegation this week in signing a letter that presses the White House for nearly $2 billion in federal funding they say is being improperly held up.
“We have an obligation to Illinois taxpayers and residents to demand answers about the future of this funding,” the letter said, “including when the Trump Administration will follow the law and make good on the federal government’s promise to deliver hard-earned taxpayer dollars back into Illinois’ economy, workforce, and communities.”
The letter marks a united political front from some of the most nationally prominent Illinois Democrats to counter President Donald Trump’s efforts to disrupt norms in the federal government. It follows a federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday that extended a block on Trump’s sweeping funding freeze.
While a White House Office of Management and Budget memo in January directing federal agencies to temporarily pause all federal assistance was rescinded, “we have continued to receive reports from agencies and organizations detailing their inability to access funds,” the letter from Illinois Democrats said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pritzker met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss the letter Tuesday in Washington, D.C., he told reporters at an unrelated news conference in Chicago on Wednesday.
“Virtually every day or every week, we’re hearing from the agencies that we operate for state government that some program has essentially been turned off, the funding for it has been turned off,” Pritzker said.
Nine Illinois agencies, boards and commissions are unable to access nearly $700 million that’s already been obligated from the federal government as of this week, according to the letter.
In addition, 10 state entities were expecting another $1.19 billion in federal funds that haven’t yet been obligated, or legally committed, and have grants or programs “essentially paused,” it said.
In total, $1.88 billion is being withheld from Illinois, the governor and lawmakers said in the letter, which was addressed to OMB Director Russell Vought.
The “frozen funds” have created problems for programs that help small businesses, provide solar energy and improve infrastructure, for example, according to the letter.
As the OMB’s memo was set to be implemented in January, the governor’s office said it was unable to access the payment systems for Medicaid, a state and federally funded health insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities. According to the letter this week, leaders “received widespread reports” about inability to access funds.
The memo also created confusion across federally backed programs in Illinois as it cast doubt on future funding.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul was among state AGs to quickly sue the Trump administration over the directive. Two federal judges across two lawsuits have issued temporary blocks in response to the pause in funding.
Pritzker on Wednesday said he believes the Trump administration is hoping programs will shut down on their own amid the uncertainty.
“They love the chaos,” he said, “because it leaves all of us out here not knowing if we can continue a program.”