CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is suing to block the Trump administration from cutting public health funding in Illinois and three other Democratic-led states.
The Trump administration plans to rescind $600 million in public health funds from the states, it was announced earlier this week.
The state of Illinois has not been shy about suing the administration to try and prevent these types of funding cuts from actually taking effect.
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The cuts appear to be aimed primarily at health programs that address the needs of minority communities. Particularly hard hit are grants dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Among those targeted is a multimillion-dollar program in Chicago.
If the Trump administration gets its way, Lurie Children’s Hospital may soon be $5.2 million poorer. It comes after it was reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be cutting off funding to a hospital-run program that aims to prevent HIV/AIDS among Black women.
The administration confirmed it is cutting around $600 million in public health funds directed at four Democratic-led states, including Illinois, saying only that “These grants are being terminated because they do not reflect agency priorities.”
The Illinois attorney general says the cuts are based on political differences and harms families.
“Black women in Illinois are 16 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than their white counterparts,” said John Peller, president and CEO of AIDS Foundation Chicago.
Peller said the cuts couldn’t come at a worse time.
“Today, there is about 800 people a year newly diagnosed with HIV in the city of Chicago. And those numbers are going in the wrong direction. It makes tremendous sense to be investing in HIV prevention programs if the concern is about saving money,” Peller said.
For now, Lurie is remaining mostly quiet, saying they are continuing to evaluate what these cuts mean.
“We conduct all of our research to improve the lives of children, adolescents and families,” a spokesperson said Tuesday.
This latest round of cuts comes just weeks after the Department of Health and Human Services moved to halt $10 billion in social services and child care funding to the same four states plus New York, alleging the money is being misused. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a lawsuit to block that effort.
“The president is really interfering with the constitutional right of Congress to have the power of the purse. There have been countless lawsuits,” Peller said.
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