The Trump administration’s surprise federal funding freeze spurred discord and pushback in Illinois even as a judge temporarily blocked the effort.
Gov. JB Pritzker says the Medicaid system was down on Tuesday in Illinois and other states across the country.
A federal judge temporarily halted President Donald Trump's move to freeze all federal grants pending an analysis to root out "wokeness" in federal spending. But confusion reigned Tuesday in Chicago and beyond as leaders braced for serious potential cuts to an array of major programs.
In its quest to get a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, Illinois was counting on $148 million in federal funding to help build a statewide network of public EV chargers. Now that funding has been frozen — and targeted for possible reduction or elimination — under a wide-ranging executive order that President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office.
Donald Trump’s administration is lying to you,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a press briefing. “The White House’s attempt to walk back what they did today does not match what we saw on the ground.
Illinois and other states were shut out of the Medicaid system Tuesday. The White House confirmed the portal “outage,” but insisted payments would be unaffected.
Local leaders have positioned the state as a safe haven for abortion, which may draw more scrutiny under the new administration.
Illinois was one of 22 Democratic-led states that filed suit Tuesday asking a federal court to block the sudden pause on funding, which was announced Monday evening. The freeze threatened to hold up trillions of dollars in funding for basic government functions like health care,
The freeze on federal funding and grants has wide-ranging implications and impacts everything from funding for child care, university research and roads and bridges.
A judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's pause on all federal funding and the White House rescinded its original order, but Chicago nonprofits and elected officials are racing to find out what the White House's plans could mean for them.