Some Illinoisans who receive government subsidies for food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program may receive partial payments starting on Friday, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.
As of May, nearly 1.9 million people in the state receive SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The average monthly payment is $370 for a household.
The state department, which administers the federal program in Illinois, said President Donald Trump’s administration provided a “significantly reduced” November payment after a federal judge in Rhode Island last week ordered partial payments made of around 65%.
On Thursday, the same judge ruled the federal government should make full payments, but the Trump administration has already appealed that decision.
Payments in Illinois will be administered between Friday and Nov. 20, depending on when recipients were scheduled to receive benefits.
For example, those who’d been scheduled to receive payments on Nov. 1 will get them on Friday, and those who’d been scheduled for Nov. 2 will get them on Saturday, the state said. Those who were scheduled to receive benefits after Friday should get them on the regular date.
However, the state agency warned that some may not get any benefit.
“For some customers, the federal administration’s requirements will leave them with no benefit for November,” it said.
Illinois typically receives roughly $350 million per month from the federal government to fund the program. Through executive order, Gov. JB Pritzker directed $20 million in state funding to support food banks starting this month.
“When you take that away and leave people with nothing, we’re going to all have to come together to provide the best we can the food that people need, until the government reopens and Donald Trump decides finally to reopen the government,” Pritzker said on Wednesday during a stop in Venice.