IL Sues RFK Jr, HHS Over Health Funding Cuts

CHICAGO — Last week, the Trump Administration announced it was cutting nearly $12 billion in funding to states for health crises and eliminating 10,000 Department of Human Services jobs. Now, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., "for abruptly and illegally terminating" the critical public health grants to states.

The federal grants to Illinois and others were used to fund such things as infectious disease tracking, immunization clinics, mental health services, addiction treatment and other emerging health needs.

"Illinois and states across the nation rely on federal grants to provide state public health services that protect our children and residents from serious diseases or health crises," Raoul said. "The abrupt termination of this funding that impacts millions of American lives is both callous and unlawful."

According to Raoul's office, the state stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars from these cancellations by HHS. The coalition warns that the HHS cuts threaten the urgent public health needs of states around the country at a time when emerging disease threats — such as measles and bird flu are on the rise.

In their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, the coalition asserts that the mass terminations violate federal law because the end of the pandemic is not a "for cause" basis for ending the grants, as none of the appropriated funds are tied to that.

Through the lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition are seeking a temporary restraining order to invalidate HHS' mass grant terminations in the suing states, arguing the actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

Joining Raoul in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

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