Welch's Smart State Budget Tools Help Shore Up Food Assistance as Trump SNAP Cut Looms

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s smart budget tools are delivering $20 million in new funding for local food banks, shoring up this critical safety net as Donald Trump denies Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for almost 2 million Illinoisans.

“Donald Trump is using his crisis to inflict deliberate pain on people in every part of this state and in every part of this country,” Welch said. “While no state can fully fill the void Trump has created, Illinois is not powerless. We are going to use every tool in our smart and responsible budget to meet our neighbors’ most urgent needs until principle and compassion return to Washington.”

The fiscally and socially responsible budget Welch and House Democrats passed in May includes a number of tools to meet short-term disruptions in federal funding, anticipating the chaotic leadership and deliberate cruelty of the Trump Administration. Among those tools are a $100 million reserve fund, and flexibility to transfer funds to meet urgent needs. On Thursday, Illinois transferred $20 million in funding to support seven food banks that supply over 2,600 food pantries across Illinois.

More than 1.8 million people in Illinois will lose access to federal food assistance on Nov. 1 as a result of Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to completely shut off the 100% federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

To access emergency food assistance in Cook County, please visit chicagosfoodbank.org. To find resources in DuPage County, please visit solvehungertoday.org.