ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SECURES PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION PRESERVING ACCESS TO KEY SOCIAL SERVICES

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SECURES PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION PRESERVING ACCESS TO KEY SOCIAL SERVICES

September 11, 2025

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul secured a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's attempt to gut essential health, education and social service programs for low-income families.

In July, Raoul joined 20 other attorneys general in challenging the federal government's reinterpretation of a decades-old law governing access to social services. On Wednesday, a federal court granted the coalition's request for a preliminary injunction, blocking sweeping new rules that threatened to strip funding from programs like Head Start, Title X family planning clinics, food banks, domestic violence shelters, adult education and community health centers.

"I am pleased with the court's decision, which ensures Illinoisans will continue to have access to these vital programs and services," Raoul said. "I will continue to oppose arbitrary and illegal actions by the Trump administration and will use all the tools at my disposal to fight unlawful orders."

Earlier this summer, four federal agencies - the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and Justice - issued a coordinated set of directives abruptly redefining longstanding policy under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). For nearly 30 years, Republican and Democratic administrations alike interpreted PRWORA to allow states to offer vital public health, education and anti-poverty programs regardless of immigration status. The Trump administration's sudden reversal would have forced states to impose immigration status verification on countless services, threatening catastrophic funding losses and program closures.

The court's decision halts implementation of those new directives in the plaintiff states while litigation proceeds, ensuring that millions of families can continue to access critical services without fear of denial or disruption. With this ruling, the judge is acknowledging that the administration likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by issuing sweeping new mandates without lawful rulemaking, grossly misreading PRWORA, and failing to consider the devastating impacts on states and communities.

In Illinois, the illegal federal rule changes targeted critical programs such as preventative health care and maternity care from community health centers, violent crime victim counseling and legal services, Head Start early education and adult literacy education. Illinois also stands to lose $182.5 million dollars annually for critical mental health and substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery programs, which supported nearly 33,000 Illinoisans last year.

Joining Attorney General Raoul in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.