Illinois Democrats warn dire consequences are in store now that the U.S. House of Representatives has approved the Senate’s broad, sweeping tax legislation backed by President Donald Trump.
“We’re talking about more than half a million people who are going to lose essential services for just survival,” Gov. JB Pritzker recently said. “People will die.”
Republicans say the cuts were needed — and will encourage more people to get jobs.
Once approved by Trump, the legislation would cut more than $1 trillion that would cost Illinois residents access to Medicaid and food assistance.
Here is a breakdown of what those cuts mean for Illinois residents.
I’m on Medicaid. What does the bill mean for me?
The Joint Economic Committee — a bipartisan committee analyzing the state of the economy — projected on June 30 that 535,849 people would lose health coverage in Illinois under the plan.
That’s because it adds new requirements for adults ages 19-64 without disabilities who receive Medicaid to prove that they have worked, volunteered or gone to school for at least 80 hours in the month before signing up for coverage. The work requirements would go into effect in late 2026. Some states can opt in earlier.
Doctors, hospitals and other health providers get reimbursed by the government for Medicaid patients they treat. Republicans said the cuts were needed to fund Trump’s tax breaks, and to help curb the Affordable Care Act’s expansion under President Obama. The GOP also blamed fraudulent claims on increased costs.
What will happen to my hospital?
Democrats and health care advocates expressed concern that hospitals reliant on Medicaid dollars will close when the bill is enacted.
“Medicaid is the health insurance program that covers one in four people in Illinois — 3.4 million in our state — including 1.5 million children,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said last month. “If the Republican proposal goes through, hospitals will be forced to cut mental health services, lay off doctors and nurses, or close altogether. Why are they creating chaos in our health care system? To provide tax breaks to some of the wealthiest people on the planet.”
Rural hospitals often rely on Medicaid reimbursements because they operate on very thin margins. The measure also got rid of so-called provider taxes, revenue states use to help finance their portion of Medicaid spending. The extra money was being used to expand services at hospitals. Republican senators added on $50 billion to the bill to help cushion the blow to rural hospitals.
I receive SNAP benefits. What does this mean for me?
The bill cuts food assistance programs by $186 billion between 2025 and 2034 — and it also adds work requirements for recipients. It also bumps the work requirement age up to 64.
More than 42 million people in the country receive SNAP benefits. According to the Department of Agriculture, 1,884,107 people in 1,028,197 households received SNAP benefits in Illinois for the 2022 fiscal year. The average monthly benefit was $157 per person, and 75% of SNAP recipients had income at or below the poverty line.
An overhaul of the program could cost Illinois $1.2 billion and leave 427,000 lower-income residents without food stamps, according to Pritzker’s office.
Will my taxes be higher?
The $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that Trump sought would make the current tax rates and brackets permanent, eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay, and add a $6,000 deduction for older Americans who make $75,000 or less. It also raises the child tax credit to $2,200.
Workers will be able to deduct $25,000 in tips a year from their income. After that, tips will be federally taxed.
A Congressional Budget Office analysis last month found the wealthiest households would see an average income increase of $12,000 annually, while it will cause low-income Americans to lose $1,600 a year. Middle-income households should see a tax break of between $500 and $1,200.
Will it increase by energy bills?
Consumer watchdogs at the Citizens Utility Board said the measure will mean higher power bills for consumers in Illinois and across the country.
“Tax credits that help everyday people use solar power or energy efficiency to cut costs at home are wildly popular and highly successful,” the group said. “These incentives are cost-effective ways to cut utility bills, reduce energy prices for everyone, make the grid more reliable, create jobs and spark the economy.”
The bill ends these tax credits by Dec. 31, 2025. The Joint Economic Committee estimated those tax cuts had helped a typical family save up to $1,080 every year.
Other cuts to student aid
It would also cut more than $350 billion in higher education investments, including changes to Pell Grants that could result in 48,700 low and middle-class Illinois students losing federal aid and another 106,200 students losing some aid.