LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
The Trump Administration notified the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on March 24, 2025, that it was terminating federal grants nationwide in the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Disease (ELC) program and other programs. Approximately $18 million of the $125 million was designated by IDPH for 97 local health departments as part of the Respiratory Surveillance and Outbreak Response Grant. The health departments experiencing dramatic cuts now include Edgar County.
“This is what we have been afraid of,” Edgar County Public Health Department (ECPHD) administrator Kim Ross said. “We are one of the counties who received the Respiratory Surveillance grant and have used those funds. Now they are going to hit us at home, at a very local level.”
The ECPHD first received funds from the ELC program grant last year. They used a portion of the money to make respiratory response kits for flu, RSV and COVID-19. Those kits were distributed locally to nursing homes, directly to the people Ross and the health department believed would benefit the most.
“We were able to use these funds to directly help those in our community who were at the most risk,” she said. “The loss of this funding is going to significantly reduce some of the things we have been able to do and the care we have been able to provide.”
The termination of federal grants like the ELC program cuts funding to IDPH and IDPH grantees, as well as contractors that support critical public health services in Illinois. The complete impact of the funding cuts will not be known by Ross and the department until a later date.
“It’s so sad. It is so hard to find funding like this,” Ross said. “If we get the March reimbursement, we will only lose $70,000, which is still huge to us.”
The original grant for the local health department was slated for $140,000. Ross said those funds help to fund the area’s Communicable Disease department and several members of staff.
In addition to rescinding $125 million in previously approved investments, the Trump Administration is also blocking $324 million for future work to prevent and treat infectious disease in Illinois. As originally passed, the bill would have provided up to $449 million in direct long-term support for the state’s disease surveillance and vaccination activities.
However, with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic complete, representatives from the IDPH said they intended to rely on $125 million of the remaining funds to “strengthen COVID-19, measles and H5N1 disease surveillance and to prepare for future potential pandemics.”
The targeted funds were to be invested in technology to track the spread of diseases, labs that test samples for infectious diseases, surveillance of wastewater, building the public health workforce, strengthening local health departments and promoting vaccination measures.
Per the IDPH, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office joined a multi-state action lawsuit led by a group of five states regarding the HHS cuts. The group worked with IDPH to gather data and information on the harmful impacts of these cuts on the agency.
In additional comments made to the press after publication, Ross explained the ECPHD is losing $90,000 in Respiratory Grant Funds from a two-year grant that was slated to last through 2026.
“This grant was a new grant that we picked up in 2024 to monitor and respond rapidly to respiratory disease outbreaks like the flu and measles in Edgar County,” Ross said. “The grant helped to support staff salaries working on the project and the supplies. Last year, we were able to distribute rapid response outbreak supply kits to high-risk congregate settings and we had planned on restocking those boxes for facilities this year, but will be unable to do so. We will continue to monitor and respond rapidly to respiratory disease outbreaks to help stop or slow the spread in our most vulnerable residents; this important work will not be sidelined.”
Ross explained the cuts will be absorbed by the health department without having to cut staff.
“We were fortunate to have just gotten this grant last July, so while it is extremely disappointing, we are trying to remain optimistic that we can absorb this and continue, as we always do - and look for additional funding,” she said.
Public health departments, like the ECPHD, provide basic health services to the whole of a community. Edgar County’s department includes a full-service dental clinic in addition to a Women, Infant and Children’s programs, car seat programs, Immunizations, STI prevention and treatment and several additional services.
“Public health cuts can have real impact on long-term health outcomes and can be detrimental to smaller communities,” Ross said. “What we need right now is the support of the community that we support – and I know that Edgar will come through. Utilizing your public health department’s services and advocating for public health efforts will make the most impact.”
This is an evolving story. The Prairie Press will continue to provide updates when and where they become available.