Illinois and the four other Democratic-led states that were subject to the Trump administration’s freeze on $10 billion in federal funding for child care and family services filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to block the move.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced late Tuesday that it was freezing the distribution of funds for Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York because of concerns about fraud, although it didn’t provide evidence or cite specific claims. The department called for those states to submit additional documentation in two weeks in order to receive the money.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined his counterparts from the other four states in filing the suit Thursday against HHS and its secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr.
Raoul called the freeze, which includes about $1 billion for Illinois, “callous.”
“Congress enacted this critical funding to support families and help working parents access child care, and the president does not have the authority to withhold it in this way,” Raoul said in a Thursday statement. “This move comes with zero justification, and in the administration’s own words, targets only Democrat-led states.”
The 41-page lawsuit asks the court to immediately stop the freeze and order the release of funds.
'Disfavored by the Trump administration'
The lawsuit accuses the administration of targeting Democratic states for political reasons, documenting several statements from President Donald Trump going back to December that specifically mention Illinois, California, Minnesota and New York. The statements include vague claims about fraud and attacks on the respective governors.
At a Friday news conference, all five attorneys general said the administration did not offer any evidence or specific allegations of fraud in the letters they received.
“If the president was serious about rooting out fraud, his administration would be investing more resources in partnering with states and supporting states’ efforts to root out fraud and abuse,” Raoul said. “But the real motivation behind this action is to punish Democrat-led states like Illinois that are disfavored by the Trump administration.”
The news release from HHS stated the funds will remain frozen until HHS’s Children and Family Services division reviews documents requested from the states and finds they are following federal requirements.
“Families who rely on child care and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” said Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill. “This action reflects our commitment to program integrity, fiscal responsibility, and compliance with federal requirements.”
Gov. JB Pritzker released a statement Tuesday emphasizing that Illinois already has anti-fraud policies and reporting requirements for programs like this. Raoul said the same thing on Friday.
“We, on the local level, regularly partner with federal agencies investigating fraud and abuse to investigate and prosecute on a case-by-case basis,” Raoul said. “This approach of, without any specific evidence, threatening to freeze funds, is inconsistent with what we do on a normal basis to make sure that funds are appropriately being administered.”
The freeze impacts three programs: the Child Care and Development Fund; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF; and the Social Services Block Grant program. Those programs fund several Illinois programs that serve hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans
Raoul said he can’t provide an exact date for when federal funds Illinois has already received might run out, only saying the date is “fairly imminent.”
The lawsuit also claims that the two-week deadline to submit documents is unreasonable, and many of the requested documents involve individuals’ sensitive personal information.
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