Trump Administration Slashes Pledged Funding that Would Protect Illinoisans from Infectious Disease Outbreaks

The Trump Administration notified the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) that it is terminating federal grants nationwide that had been already awarded to support the ongoing work to protect the public from infectious diseases. The termination pulls back $125 million in funding for IDPH and 97 local public health departments, which had been allocated by IDPH for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Disease (ELC) program and other uses.

The funding was awarded to Illinois through 14 separate budget lines in the federal bipartisan CARES Act passed during the first Trump Administration. In addition to rescinding $125 million in previously approved investments, this Trump Administration is also blocking $324 million for future work to prevent and treat infectious disease in Illinois. As originally passed, the bill would have provided up to $449 million in direct long-term support for the state’s disease surveillance and vaccination activities. However, with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, IDPH intended to rely on $125 million of the remaining funds to strengthen COVID-19, measles and H5N1 disease surveillance, and to prepare for future potential pandemics.

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DPH allocated the targeted funds for technology to track the spread of diseases, invest in labs that test samples for infectious diseases, surveil wastewater, build the public health workforce, and strengthen local health departments.

“This decision to terminate already awarded federal funding will cause immeasurable harm and disruption to the health and safety of the people of Illinois and generate larger expenses in the longer run,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The State of Illinois will do everything in our power to restore this vital federal funding and continue to invest in common sense public health solutions to keep our state safe and healthy.”

“While IDPH has been preparing for anticipated federal budget cuts, the termination of this awarded funding will have a debilitating impact on our efforts to protect the health of Illinoisans,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “If allowed to stand, this funding cut will set back critical upgrades to our public health labs, technology used to track infectious diseases like H5N1 avian flu and measles, vaccination efforts, and our ongoing work to better prepare for the next public health emergency.”

The funding cut affects IDPH and 97 local health department operations not only in the current fiscal year ending June 30, but well into the next two state fiscal years.