Trump Administration Wants Illinois To Foot Its Own Bill For SNAP Program

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (0:12)
Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.
Stick around to the very end of the episode to get a rundown of the latest news. But first, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, that helps millions of people across the country put food on the table. But it's safe to say the program's going through some of its biggest changes in years. That's because the Trump Administration is pushing more of the cost and responsibility onto states, while also adding new work requirements and other updates that could affect who qualifies to get benefits. So what does this all mean for people who live in Illinois?
In this episode of The Pod, we're going to dig into that question, and we'll learn what options state lawmakers have, as the future of SNAP remains uncertain. At the table with me was Nolan Downey, who's Senior Director of Policy for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Carolyn Barnes, who's Associate Professor at the Crown Family School at UChicago, and Illinois State Rep Dagmara D. Avelar of the 85th District. Now, let's rewind the clock a bit. Before the Trump Administration made these recent changes, how has SNAP traditionally been funded? I asked Professor Barnes to explain. Here she is.

**Carolyn Barnes** (1:25)
So, historically, SNAP has been funded by the Farm Bill, and it's been considered an entitlement, meaning the federal government covers the cost of benefits. There has been, historically, a cost-sharing agreement between the federal government and states, where the administrative budget is covered 50 percent by the federal government, 50 percent by states. And there has been work requirements in the past, but they were far less broad as they are now, primarily targeting folks that don't have dependents, so able-bodied adults without dependents, through 59

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (1:59)
So the administrative costs bundled in there have traditionally been paid by the federal government, too, right? They would cover the full cost of SNAP benefits.

**Carolyn Barnes** (2:08)
They'd cover the full cost of SNAP benefits and share half of the administrative budget with the states.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:13)
50-50.
50-50 with the states. And Nolan, so we're clear, what exactly has changed since Trump signed that one big, beautiful bill last year?

**Nolan Downey** (2:22)
So much has changed. I mean, as we all know, that bill contained historic, unprecedented, and cruel cuts to the social safety net. As Dr. Barnes has mentioned, we've already seen expanded work requirements and harsh immigrant eligibility restrictions kick off. Lawfully present humanitarian immigrants kick off people who have never been subject to work requirements. There are thousands of people losing benefits in the state already. But now the change that's coming in the years ahead is this shift in costs from the federal government to the state. And to put those two buckets of costs into context, SNAP benefits bring $4 billion worth of money into the state. That's money that is important for our state economy. Those administrative costs are also significant, but there we're talking about tens of millions of dollars. So what the state has historically shoulders is much, much smaller.
Now, a portion of that $4 billion is being shifted onto states, which could create a future financial obligation that is up to $700 million.
And if the state does not pay that, we lose the program entirely. So the stakes are incredibly high for Illinois and for states across the country.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:26)
So that 50-50 that we just talked about with Professor Barnes is now 25-75 being from the states, right? So I got to bring you in now, Representative, because what Nolan just brings up is pretty jarring, right? On top of these increased administrative costs, the federal government wants to shift what could be as much as $705 million to Illinois to sustain this SNAP program. What's your reaction?

**Dagmara Avelar** (3:50)
That is correct.
My reaction, I mean, this is one of the things that keeps me up at night and several of my colleagues at night because we are looking at ever since, I refuse to call it that bill, I just call it HR1 because the truth is that it's doing so much damage to our communities. Whether it is SNAP, whether it's Medicaid, when it comes to eligibility, we are just seeing a lot of the burden shifted to states. The truth is that while here in Illinois, we haven't successful in just passing our eighth balanced budget.
The truth is that the more pressure that we get from the feds, that gap is going to continue to increase and increase. At the state level, we just won't have the currently with the revenues that we have. We won't be able to fill that gap. So it definitely is a pressure point that we as legislators have continued to talk about. We don't go back into session until November, but that doesn't mean that the conversations have not been happening to figure out what do we do.