Waste watch: Illinois uses temporary federal aid to fund ongoing social programs

Illinois lawmakers diverted at least $74 million in one-time pandemic relief funds to select social programs and nonprofits.

Illinois state lawmakers are putting at least $74 million in temporary federal pandemic aid to ongoing social programs using taxpayer dollars other people worked for.

The American Rescue Plan Act was meant to help states replace lost revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic, improving infrastructure and supporting short-term stabilization.

States must spend ARPA funds by Dec. 31, 2026, which means final amounts are supposed to be spent in the budget this fiscal year. Illinois lawmakers have treated ARPA like a blank check, using a portion of the state’s nearly $8.1 billion in temporary aid to support recurring social programs and issue questionable grants for local pet projects.

The 2026 budget continues to misuse ARPA funds for various permanent welfare programs and local projects through the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. This includes reappropriating:

• $31 million for “youth employment programs”
• $32 million to Reimagine Public Safety.
• $15 million to various racial and ethnic family commissions and “state-designated cultural districts”
• $4.5 million for Parents Too Soon, which provides financial assistance and education to teenage parents.
• At least $11.46 million to United Power, a social justice advocacy nonprofit
• $1.6 million to Supportive Housing Services, which provides case management and counseling for people at risk of becoming homeless, as well as job training.
• $255,000 for the House of Miles Davis Museum.

These initiatives might be well-intentioned, but they have little to do with “economic recovery” and create ongoing costs that will likely keep burdening taxpayers long after the federal money faucet is turned off.

Pandemic relief funds were never meant to expand permanent welfare or be a substitute for regular appropriations. Using temporary money to prop up ongoing obligations is not just poor budgeting, it hurts taxpayers in the future.

There is a deeper problem with Illinois’ opaque, last-minute budgeting process. Rushed negotiations and “gut-and-replace” amendments allow lawmakers to insert such spending with little time for the public or debate. Without meaningful transparency, there’s no way to know whether federal aid will be used wisely.

A more responsible use of pandemic relief funds would have focused on one-time investments, such as paying down debt or improving infrastructure with low recurring costs. These choices could have strengthened Illinois’ long-term finances without risking a future budget squeeze once the aid runs out.

To protect taxpayers, lawmakers need disciplined, transparent budgeting that prioritizes responsible spending over political optics. That means:

• Setting a spending cap
• Banning “gut-and-replace” tactics
• Allowing at least 72 hours for public review of the budget in its final form
• Requiring lawmakers to publicly disclose and justify all earmarked spending requests.

Want to see the 2,815 earmarks and questionable spending state lawmakers put in this year’s budget? Use our look-up tool below.

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