Illinois
Illinois lawmakers brace for possible federal cuts to Medicaid
SPRINGFIELD — Health care advocates, hospital officials and people who rely on Medicaid for their medical coverage warned state lawmakers Wednesday of consequences that could result from proposed cuts in federal Medicaid funding.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
“This is it. This is absolutely it. This is the line,” said Carrie Chapman, senior director of litigation and advocacy at Legal Council for Health Justice, a Chicago-based advocacy group. “Medicaid stays or goes as the program that we’ve know it right now.”
Chapman was among nearly a dozen people who spoke Wednesday to an Illinois House budget committee that oversees spending for human services, including Medicaid, the public health insurance program that covers about 3.4 million lower-income people in Illinois.
Established in 1965 alongside Medicare, the federally funded health insurance program for seniors, Medicaid has traditionally targeted lower-income pregnant women, children, seniors, parents, and people with disabilities. In Illinois, the federal government pays approximately 51% of the cost of covering those individuals’ care.
However, with passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Medicaid eligibility was expanded to include working-age adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Approximately 770,000 people in that category are covered by Illinois Medicaid and the federal government pays 90% of the cost for that expansion group.
Currently, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Medicaid pays for about half of all child births in Illinois and two-thirds of all nursing home days. Nearly 50% of Illinoisians living with HIV are covered by Medicaid, as well as almost 80% of people served by community mental health centers.
All told, according to the state comptroller’s office, Illinois spent about $36.9 billion on Medicaid in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Lizzie Whitehorn said about 62% of total state Medicaid spending comes from the federal government.
At issue was a budget resolution that recently passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House in Washington, which calls for deep cuts in federal spending. Part of that resolution calls on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, to cut $880 billion from the federal budget deficit over the next 10 years.
Because Medicaid makes up a large part of all the programs the Energy and Commerce Committee oversees, many have assumed that cuts of that size would have to include substantial cuts to Medicaid.
“There’s no way they can cut that much out of the federal budget without touching Medicaid, because Medicaid is such a substantial portion of the discretionary funds that they have access to,” Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, who chairs the legislative appropriations committee, said after the hearing.
Whitehorn noted that the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act resulted in cutting the state’s uninsured rate in half and reducing the amount of uncompensated care delivered in Illinois by more than a third.
“Federal cuts would mean we have to limit services or eligibility,” she told the committee. “And we don’t have the money as a state to make up the difference.”
A.J. Wilhelmi, president and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, described the list of proposals being considered in Washington as “both sweeping and shocking.” He said they include turning federal Medicaid spending into a block grant to states, establishing per capita caps on Medicaid benefits, and eliminating certain funding mechanisms, known as provider taxes, that are used to draw down additional federal matching funds to support the cost of operating hospitals.
“And make no mistake, there would be no hospital Medicaid program without hospital provider taxes,” he said.
Last month, Gov. JB Pritzker laid out a $55.2 billion budget proposal to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to fund state government operations over the 2026 fiscal year, which begins July 1. In his budget address, however, he noted the uncertainty of various streams of federal funds that are used to help pay the cost of many state operations, including Medicaid.
Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who serves on the committee, said Wednesday that the decision about future federal Medicaid funding is in the hands of the Republican-controlled Congress. He urged GOP members of the General Assembly to use their influence to persuade the three Illinois Republicans in the U.S. House to vote against cutting Medicaid funding.
“So I’ll just close with my request to the minority spokesmen and the minority members of this committee to come back in a week to share with this entire committee those letters and those emails and those texts in discussion with us about the things they have done to make sure that the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and the president do not make these horrible, horrible, damaging, life-impacting cuts to our Medicaid system,” he said.
Republicans on the panel argued that the subject of federal budget negotiations was beyond the scope of the state legislative committee’s purview and suggested Wednesday’s hearing was more about partisan politics than solving the state’s budget issues.
“And so this, I think, is performative,” said Rep. William Hauter, R-Morton. “We don’t know what will happen. There’s a lot of things that we have no control over, budget negotiations going on at the national level.”
Moeller argued the hearing was more than a stage show, noting that Congress faces a March 14 deadline to pass a bill to renew federal spending authority or face a partial shutdown of the federal government.
“This hearing this morning is far more than performative,” she said. “We are going to be heading into our budget cycle, our budget making process, with huge uncertainty hanging over our heads. What happens on March 15, in the next few weeks, in Washington, D.C., will have a direct impact on the level of funding that we will have available for all of these important programs.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Name: Eric Godoy
Title: Associate Professor
Unit: Department of Philosophy
Years at Illinois State: 8 1/2 years
Tell us about your teaching and research in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Renewable energy alone won’t make our energy systems more just. The production, distribution, and consumption of energy are connected to many ethical issues. For example, even renewable energy projects can pollute environments or displace people. My recent research examines these ethical challenges and asks what a just transition might look like. I’ve also published work on climate ethics, trophy hunting lions, urban park design, interdisciplinary research, and dinosaur films. My most popular course is PHI 236: Values and the Environment, but I also teach many topics in moral, social-political, and environmental philosophy. I’m also a proud affiliate of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program (WGSS).”
What are your proudest accomplishments during your time at Illinois State?
“I was awarded an American Council of Learned Societies’ fellowship for my work on energy democracy this year. I was nominated by our university for a Carnegie Fellowship in 2024. I was also very honored to receive a College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Excellence Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2021. But I’m always the proudest when I hear about the success of my former students. I love getting emails about their new careers or their graduate studies in all kinds of fields: law, environmental work, and, of course, philosophy.”
What’s your favorite thing about Illinois State or the College of Arts and Sciences?
“I do my best research in conversation with students and colleagues in different fields. Our students and faculty are so talented. They’re often working on amazing projects. I learn so much from them. They encourage me to explore new research questions I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Environmental problems are inherently interdisciplinary. I’m very grateful that CAS supports interdisciplinary work and programs, such as WGSS, Environmental Systems Science and Sustainability, and Civic Engagement. Philosophy lends itself so well to interdisciplinary relationships since there are philosophical questions at the heart of every field.”
Department of Philosophy Chair Christopher Horvath on Godoy:
“Dr. Eric Godoy is an innovative, student‑centered educator whose inclusive and interdisciplinary pedagogy consistently elevates the department’s instructional standards. He is deeply committed to creating learning environments that empower students from diverse backgrounds to engage meaningfully with complex philosophical issues. His leadership in curriculum development has made him one of the department’s most forward‑thinking educators. Complementing his teaching excellence, his research provides practical, ethically grounded solutions to energy‑policy conflicts and will shape national conversations about democratic participation in a just transition away from fossil fuels.”
Read more stories from the College of Arts and Sciences at News.IllinoisState.edu/Unit/College-Arts-Sciences and follow the college on Facebook and Instagram.
Murals and memorials of César Chavez are continuing to come down across Chicago after allegations emerged last week that the Latino civil rights activist groomed and sexually assaulted girls and women.
The allegations were revealed in a New York Times investigation published March 18.
Some artworks are being repainted with murals of Dolores Huerta, the longtime ally of Chavez in the labor rights movement. Huerta, 95, told the New York Times that Chavez had sexually assaulted her.
The Illinois Senate adopted a resolution Wednesday honoring Huerta and declaring April 10 as “Dolores Huerta Day” in Illinois.
“In recent months, Dolores Huerta has shown profound resilience and courage in sharing her own experience of harm, doing so in order to uplift the stories of countless women whose voices were overlooked or silenced,” the resolution states.
One of the resolution’s sponsors, State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said she is also working on a plan to rescind César Chavez Day, which is next week on March 31st.
At Cafe Tola in Lake View, a Chavez mural outside the restaurant’s building was replaced this week with a painting of Huerta, who coined the phrase, “Sí, se puede,” which loosely translates to, “Yes, we can.”
“We are deeply saddened by this news, yet we stand in unwavering support and admiration for Dolores Huerta and every woman who has found the courage to come forward,” Cafe Tola said in a social media post. “This moment is powerful — proof that truth cannot be silenced and that it is never too late to reclaim your voice. We honor that strength.”
A plaque dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the death of César Chavez, honoring him and Sister Dolores Huerta, before it was taped over at the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop.
In the West Loop, a plaque honoring Chavez’s labor rights movement has been covered with black tape at the Haymarket Memorial. According to the Chicago Federation of Labor, the organization is planning to fully remove it.
“We will be discussing with all our partners on how to best honor both the survivors of Cesar Chavez’s horrific abuse and the workers that were betrayed by Chavez,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Federation of Labor said in a statement.
Black tape covers up a plaque (left) that commemorates the 30th anniversary of César Chavez’s death on the base of the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop, Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Last week, Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said the allegations that Chavez sexually assaulted children, women, workers and labor organizers “is a betrayal to our movement.”
Chavez, who died in 1993, has long been revered in Chicago’s Latino community. In addition to numerous murals of him across the city, a public elementary school in Back of the Yards and a post office in Pilsen are both named after him.
The school, César E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, has initiated the process that could lead to a new name. It is receiving community feedback about a possible new name, according to Chicago Public Schools officials. Any recommendation would need approval from the Local School Council and the school board.
Another school in Pilsen, Peter Cooper Dual Language Academy, has a mosaic of Chavez and Huerta side by side. It’s unclear if the school plans to remove the mosaic of Chavez.
The Sun-Times was the first to report that Chavez’s face had been painted over last week on the “Libertad” mural across a long wall at Barrett Park in Pilsen.
A splotch of green paint initially covered the portion where Chavez was depicted, but Park District officials have since painted over that with a continuation of the mural’s background design, a Park District spokesperson said.
Other historical figures on the mural, including Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. remain visible on the wall.
Paint covers Cesar Chavez’s face on a mural depicting civil rights figures that can be seen an exterior wall of Barrett Park in the Pilsen neighborhood, Friday, March 20, 2026.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time
“The Chicago Park District takes recent allegations of misconduct by Cesar Chavez seriously … and are conducting a district-wide review of any other park features that may honor him,” a Park District spokesperson said previously. “Where appropriate, we will take further action consistent with our values and standards.”
The Park District has not identified any other murals or memorials of Chavez on any of its properties, the spokesperson said Wednesday.
Contributing: Isabela Nieto
Dementia risk signals could lie in simple blood pressure readings, researchers say
Indiana coach Cignetti sends message to star transfer with pre-practice dress code lesson
Drone food delivery launches in New Jersey
FKA twigs sues ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf over ‘unlawful’ NDA
LAPD chief backed cops who shot at author, Weezer bassist’s ex; commission overruled him
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Rubio joins crucial G7 talks as Iran war set to dominate second day
A surprise resignation could open the door for an independent to win a Montana Senate seat
Video: Savannah Guthrie Says She Believes Her Mother Was Taken for Ransom
Stefanik grills University of Michigan leader on lack of audit after string of Chinese national arrests
Photos: More than one million displaced by Israel’s evacuations in Lebanon
-
Detroit, MI1 week agoDrummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
-
Science1 week agoHow a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Science1 week agoI had to man up and get a mammogram
-
Sports6 days agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
New Mexico4 days agoClovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
-
Texas7 days agoHow to buy Houston vs. Texas A&M 2026 March Madness tickets
-
Tennessee3 days agoTennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson