Trump administration cuts $153 million in Illinois public health, substance abuse programs
President Donald Trump’s administration has rescinded $153 million in federal grant funding to Illinois programs for mental health services, substance abuse treatment and infectious disease prevention — cuts that Gov. JB Pritzker said will inflict “immeasurable harm.”
State officials learned this week of $28 million in previously approved grants that have been slashed from the Illinois Department of Human Services, while $125 million has been pulled back from the state Department of Public Health, officials said Wednesday.
The Trump administration is also blocking another $324 million in future public health department grants Illinois had been set to receive under the CARES Act, passed by Congress during Trump's first term in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Illinois cuts are part of $12 billion in grants that the federal Department of Health and Human Services canceled this week.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” a federal department spokesman said in a statement.
The state says that, as of late February, more than $1.8 billion in federal funds have been withheld by the Trump administration. That includes money that was anticipated or awarded but not yet obligated.
Pritzker has been touring the state — and flooding national airwaves and podcasts — to decry the cuts.
The Democratic governor said the public health cuts “will cause immeasurable harm and disruption to the health and safety of the people of Illinois and generate larger expenses in the longer run.”
"At a time when Americans desperately need support for mental health and substance abuse, the Trump administration has again prioritized cruelty over care and cut essential funds states were relying on to fund lifesaving programs," Pritzker said in a statement.
“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.”
Illinois public health officials said with “the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic behind us,” the $125 million in federal dollars are crucial to strengthening disease surveillance, “and to prepare for future potential pandemics.” The money was earmarked for wastewater surveillance, laboratory investments and bolstering the public health workforce.
“While IDPH has been preparing for anticipated federal budget cuts, the termination of this awarded funding will have a debilitating impact on our efforts to protect the health of Illinoisans,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra.
“If allowed to stand, this funding cut will set back critical upgrades to our public health labs, technology used to track infectious diseases like H5N1 avian flu and measles, vaccination efforts, and our ongoing work to better prepare for the next public health emergency,” Vohra said.
The $28 million in mental health funding, granted through the American Rescue Plan Act signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021, had been allocated to 77 community-based organizations in Illinois.
The money helped support behavioral health crisis responses, substance abuse recovery homes and prevention services. It also provided assistance for people experiencing early symptoms of psychosis.
Illinois DHS Secretary Dulce M. Quintero called the cut "shortsighted and negligent."
“This funding has an invaluable return on investment — saving lives and rehabilitating those struggling so they can once again become thriving members of their communities," Quintero said.
Contributing: Associated Press
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