Durbin, Duckworth Join Pritzker And Illinois Congressional Delegation In Pressing White House On Withholding $1.8 Billion From Taxpayers
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and members of the Illinois congressional delegation in issuing a joint letter to White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought demanding action and accountability from OMB on the approximately $1.88 billion in funding that is illegally being withheld from Illinois taxpayers despite the funding being appropriated by Congress and numerous court orders.
“On behalf of our constituents, we are seeking full transparency and accountability on any and all funding that has been paused or interrupted. If the Trump Administration is unable to follow the law and uphold their end of the deal, the people of our state deserve to know,” wrote the lawmakers in a letter to OMB Director Vought.
The letter provides an update that as of mid-February many agencies and organizations in Illinois have reported an inability to access funds, with some in danger of needing to pause operations, cancel projects, or lay off staff. Impacted grant programs and organizations include, but are not limited to:
- Nine state agencies, boards and commissions have a total of $692 million in federal funds obligated but not yet received and they are unable to access those funds.
- 10 state agencies, boards and commissions have a total of $1.19 billion in federal funds anticipated/awarded but not yet obligated and the grants/programs are essentially paused.
- 14 state agencies, boards and commissions have a total of $1.88 billion in impacted federal funds, including the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Community College Board, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Finance Authority, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Power Agency, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Department of Labor and Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
A copy of the full letter is available here and below:
February 25, 2025
Dear Director Vought:
As we write this letter, the federal government continues to withhold $1.88 billion from Illinois. These are federal funds that were passed by Congress, signed into law, and promised to Illinois. State agencies, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and everyday citizens across Illinois— including in rural communities—are still having trouble accessing allocated federal funding. We have an obligation to Illinois taxpayers and residents to demand answers about the future of this funding, 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 evening of January 27th, our offices read in the news that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had released a memorandum directing Federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.” Throughout the following day, we received widespread reports of system outages and lockouts that prevented grantees from accessing entitled funding. Attempted communications with government liaisons were often ignored and public statements from the White House were inconsistent with the experiences of our grantees.
Since then, despite OMB’s rescission of the memo, we have continued to receive reports from agencies and organizations detailing their inability to access funds. This uncertainty over receiving future, assured funds, along with little clarity provided by the Administration, has forced many to pause operations, cancel projects, or cut staff.
We are seeking clarity on your actions, as well as assurances that you will legally uphold your financial commitments to the State of Illinois. These funds have been contractually agreed to, allocated, and planned around by their recipients—which include childcare providers, educational institutions, small businesses, community and economic development organizations, and more. Needless to say, the restriction of these funds will have a detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole.
As of February 24, 2025, impacted grants programs and organizations include, but are not limited to:
- Nine state agencies, boards, and commissions have a total of $692 million in federal funds obligated but not yet received, and they are unable to access those funds.
- 10 state agencies, boards, and commissions have a total of $1.19 billion in federal funds anticipated/awarded but not yet obligated, and the grants/programs are essentially paused.
- In total, this constitutes $1.88 billion in impacted federal funds across 14 state agencies, boards, and commissions in Illinois, including the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Community College Board, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Finance Authority, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Power Agency, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, Illinois Department of Labor, and Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
These frozen funds impact programs that provide technical assistance for small businesses, provide affordable solar energy for low-income residents, improve roads and bridges, and more.
On behalf of our constituents, we are seeking full transparency and accountability on any and all funding that has been paused or interrupted. If the Trump Administration is unable to follow the law and uphold their end of the deal, the people of our state deserve to know.
Pursuant to that, we ask that you answer the following questions by March 4, 2025:
- Please identify any forms of federal financial assistance for which federal funding disbursements did not promptly resume following the recission of OMB Memorandum M-25-13.
- For all forms of federal financial assistance that did not promptly resume, please describe the steps you have taken or will take to resume the disbursement of funds in compliance with court orders. Also indicate when the disbursement of funds can be expected to resume.
- For any disbursement of funds that have not been promptly resumed, and following two federal judges issuing temporary restraining orders regarding the funding freeze, what is your legal basis for continuing to withhold funds?
- What steps have you taken to identify and communicate with grant recipients who have been negatively affected by this oversight?
- What steps will you take to ensure that this issue does not occur again?
We appreciate your timely attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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