Federal Funding Freezes Threaten Will County Public Health Programs Amid Ongoing Lawsuits

Public Health & Safety Committee Meeting | March 5, 2026

Article Summary: Will County health officials are bracing for potential service disruptions as they monitor multiple federal lawsuits surrounding frozen public health grants. Hundreds of millions in federal funds have been halted, threatening local initiatives like HIV prevention, prenatal case management, and early childhood referral systems.

Will County Health Funding Key Points:

• A federal Office of Management and Budget directive ordered the CDC to rescind approximately $600 million from four states, including an estimated $100 million from Illinois.

• The rescission threatens Will County’s $206,000 annual HIV prevention and surveillance grant.

• A separate $10 billion federal freeze on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and social services block grants is threatening the county’s Better Birth Outcomes (BBO-C) and All Our Kids (AOK) programs.

• Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a multi-state lawsuit on February 11 to fight the CDC cuts, securing a temporary restraining order that allows funding to continue for now.

The Will County Public Health and Safety Committee on Thursday, March 5, 2026, received a sobering financial update, learning that major federal funding blocks could soon dismantle several critical local health programs if ongoing litigation fails.

While presenting the health department’s monthly update, Executive Director Elizabeth Bilotta and county financial staff detailed the precarious nature of their federal pass-through grants. The department is currently tracking four federal lawsuits involving the State of Illinois, two of which have immediate local implications.

The most pressing threat stems from an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) order directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to rescind roughly $600 million in public health grants from California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota. According to the agenda packet, approximately $100 million of that total represents critical funding for Illinois local health departments.

“The impact we’re feeling on that one is specific to our HIV prevention and surveillance program,” explained Denise, a financial representative for the health department. “Annually we do receive over $206,000, and that is for HIV prevention, education, and really mitigation services.”

On February 11, Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the directive. A federal judge issued a 14-day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on February 12, which was subsequently extended to March 12, allowing the county’s HIV prevention work to continue while a preliminary injunction is weighed.

Simultaneously, the county is monitoring a massive $10 billion federal freeze affecting five states that involves TANF, social services, and childcare block grants.

This freeze directly targets the health department’s Better Birth Outcomes Comprehensive (BBO-C) grant, which provides medical case management by registered nurses for at-risk prenatal and postpartum women. It also threatens the All Our Kids (AOK) network grant, which funds early childhood education and the county’s Iris referral system.

“When you receive such a large chunk of federal funding, the state has to support more of the operations and what they pass on to us,” Denise explained regarding the potential fallout if the injunctions are lifted. “We would lose federal pass-through, and then I’m assuming that our percentage from the state would also decrease unless the state can find funding to support that program.”

Board Member Julie Berkowicz expressed alarm at the potential loss of services, noting that the demand for housing, healthcare, and childcare is projected to surge locally by May 1.

“Without that money, these don’t exist,” Berkowicz stated.

While the BBO-C, AOK, and HIV programs are not strictly mandated by state law—unlike food, water, sewage, and basic communicable disease interventions—they represent core initiatives established by the county’s needs assessment.

To brace for potential surges in patient volume, the Community Health Center is already restructuring provider schedules to increase walk-in capacity and maximize patient visits at its branch offices in Bolingbrook and Monee.