On Tuesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker joined U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, and Tammy Duckworth and various members of the Illinois congressional delegation to issue a joint letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, demanding action and accountability from OMB on the approximately $1.88 billion in funding that is being withheld from Illinois taxpayers despite numerous court orders and a rescission of the original OMB memo issued on Jan. 27.

 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.

 An excerpt from the letter reads:

 “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.”