Trump Administration Cuts Critical Public Health Programs Across Illinois

Trump Administration Cuts Critical Public Health Programs Across Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced that the Trump administration has cut $100 million in critical funding for local public health departments, and for HIV prevention and monitoring, chronic disease surveys, and more. Funding for these programs was allocated by Congress and is also being stripped from three additional states - all led by Democratic governors - and represents the latest politically-motivated action by the Trump administration to cancel public health grant funding in blue states.

"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."

On February 11^th, Attorney General Kwame Raoul 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.

"The president is blatantly targeting states that are disfavored for political reasons, and our residents are the ones who will suffer," said Attorney General Kwame Raoul. "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."

"These cuts target programs that benefit the health of all Illinois residents," said 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."

The programs impacted by the cuts include:

• The Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), which provides funding for workforce development, data modernization, support for local health departments, and other essential public health initiatives
• The Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which collects information on the behaviors and conditions related to the leading causes of death for Illinoisans, allowing for more targeted intervention
• The State Injury Prevention Program (SIPP), which works to identify and, where possible, prevent conditions that lead to violence, injury, and death
• The HIV Medical Monitoring Project (MMP), which tracks essential information about persons living with HIV in Illinois in areas such as housing, insurance, medication, and access to care, information which allows for better planning of HIV services and targeting of resources where they are most needed
• HIV Prevention and Surveillance, which includes programs to expand HIV testing to cover more people who may not be aware they have HIV; linking newly-diagnosed patients to appropriate care; expanding access to PrEP, medication which can reduce the spread of HIV; and conducting partner notification.