Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Funding Cuts Target Four States; Illinois’ Programs Exceed $100 million
**Download a broadcast quality video file of Attorney General Raoul’s remarks here**

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today led attorneys general from California, Colorado and Minnesota in suing the Trump administration over the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) directive to unlawfully cut more than $600 million in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants, based on its disagreements with policies in those states. 

Raoul and the coalition explain in their lawsuit that the critical grant funding, which could be terminated as soon as Feb. 12, allows states to track disease outbreaks, maintain and improve their data systems, and collect basic public health data the CDC relies upon. These funding cuts would also force states to lay off hundreds of trained public health professionals.

“The president is blatantly targeting states that are disfavored for political reasons, and our residents are the ones who will suffer,” Raoul said. “The programs that rely on this funding are in no way related to federal immigration law, and these arbitrary cuts will affect critical public health infrastructure in Illinois. I will continue to push back on the administration’s unlawful actions and policies particularly when it affects funding to prevent and treat life-threatening ailments, such as lead poisoning or HIV.”

“Rather than making life easier and more affordable for our families, Donald Trump is stripping critical public health funding with the singular goal of harming states he does not like,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “It’s a slap in the face to the people of Illinois and the public health leaders who have stepped up as his HHS takes a sledgehammer to public health infrastructure. Illinois will not stand by idly as Trump illegally cancels the Congressionally-allocated funding we are owed.”

“These cuts target programs that benefit the health of all Illinois residents,” said Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “These actions will severely harm IDPH programs that provide critical support to local health departments, decrease HIV rates, and promote injury and violence prevention, among other efforts. This Congress-allocated funding should be preserved to continue supporting work happening at the state and local level to keep Illinois protected, safe, and healthy.” 

On Feb. 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified Congress of its intent to terminate CDC grant funding in those four states without providing any specific reasons. Cuts to Illinois’ public health programs alone exceed $100 million. In their complaint, Raoul and the coalition allege that OMB’s directive commanding agencies to cut funding, along with its implementation, violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act because it is arbitrary and capricious and exceeds the agencies’ statutory authority. 

The largest grant targeted in this federal directive is the Public Health Infrastructure Block Grant (PHIG), which operates in all 50 states and funds both critical short-term infrastructure, workforce needs and long-lasting strategic investment. For example, in Illinois, the PHIG funds lead poisoning prevention grants to 25 local health departments, as well as local health department workforce development support grants that support 674 public health jobs at 96 local agencies.

Without PHIG funds, Illinois would have to cancel 55 contracts supporting strategic planning, data modernization, emergency preparedness, workforce training and community engagement, and terminate the employment of nearly 100 IDPH employees. Raoul explained in the lawsuit this would directly reduce the IDPH’s capacity to perform core public health functions, including disease surveillance, data analysis, workforce management and regulatory compliance.

More than $100 million in Illinois grants and programs are at risk if the CDC’s grant funding is terminated. The funding enables Illinois to implement the CDC’s medical monitoring project for patients living with HIV, which gathers data the state needs to evaluate the effectiveness of HIV care programs, and to focus interventions on high-risk populations. Also at risk is Illinois’ HIV surveillance system, which helps the state track the spread of HIV, as well as detect and respond to HIV outbreaks.

Another threatened grant funds data collection of Illinoisans’ health behaviors, demographics, chronic disease, screening and health care access, which is used to make data-driven decisions about the allocation of public health resources. The data is also used in the CDC’s national behavioral research dataset. Additionally, Illinois collects state injury data to track trends in preventable injuries and target prevention efforts.

Raoul and the attorneys general have asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and prohibit the implementation or enforcement of the unlawful directive.