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California's attorney general says the freeze on funds for social services to five Democratic-led states this week is unconscionable, undemocratic and unlawful. And counterparts in Illinois, New York, Colorado and Minnesota filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Trump administration for cutting off that money - some $10 billion. And last night, a judge temporarily reinstated that money that the administration says it still wants to freeze while it looks for fraud. Mawa Iqbal from member station WBEZ has some of the reaction from Illinois.
MAWA IQBAL, BYLINE: Illinois is no stranger to the Trump administration withholding federal dollars from funding for after-school programming to now social services for lower-income children and families. Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, who's never been shy about his disdain for the president, says this recent freeze, much like the others, is purely political.
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JB PRITZKER: They picked five states to cut off funding for. All of them are run by Democratic governors that he doesn't like.
IQBAL: The move by the administration comes in response to investigations of social service fraud in Minnesota. Illinois stands to lose funding that would go towards administering the Child Care Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Social Services Block Grant. And while it's unclear when that money would stop coming in, especially now that the issue is in court, some advocates are already feeling the pressure.
IRETA GASNER: There's such an unmet need to really fund early care and learning already on our best day.
IQBAL: Ireta Grasner (ph) heads the state policy team at Start Early, an Illinois chapter of the federal Head Start program.
GASNER: These kinds of pressures are very real because we have a long way to go to, you know, having more families who really can use these supports at this really critical stage of life.
IQBAL: In a letter to Governor Pritzker about the funding cuts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it's concerned about potential extensive and systemic fraud and that it has reason to believe that Illinois is providing aid, quote, "intended for American citizens" to those without legal status. HHS is demanding the, quote, "complete universe" of documents containing Illinoians' personal information, like Social Security numbers and home addresses. HHS did not respond to requests for comment on the story.
KWAME RAOUL: The real motivation behind this action is to punish Democrat-led states.
IQBAL: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul says the claims are cruel and baseless and is why he and his fellow attorneys general are turning to the courts.
RAOUL: 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.
IQBAL: He says the move would affect more than 150,000 children in the state who rely on these programs for everything from nutrition to child care.
RAOUL: The effects of this action are far-reaching and dangerous. For Illinois alone, the president's action threatens around $1 billion that Illinois families and service providers are counting on.
IQBAL: Republican leaders in the state haven't come out publicly on either side of the issue, like with many actions the president has taken against the state. A judge has reinstated the funding for two weeks, but a longer court battle is sure to play out over the fate of these programs.
For NPR News, I'm Mawa Iqbal in Springfield, Illinois. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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