Illinois food assistance error rate continues to grow as federal
penalties loom
[June 26, 2026]
By Ben Szalinski
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows
Illinois’ payment error rate for food assistance continues to grow with
federal penalties set to take effect in about a year.
The data shows Illinois made errors on 14.7% of Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program payments in federal fiscal year 2025. That includes
13.3% of all payments being higher than they should have been.
The error rate is higher than the 11.6% rate of the previous fiscal
year. The continuing growth comes as the federal government is set to
impose new penalties beginning in October 2027 on states with high error
rates on SNAP payments. For Illinois, the penalty could cost about $700
million.
“Illinois’ SNAP error rate has skyrocketed because of years of
mismanagement, and our most vulnerable will be paying the price,” House
Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said in a statement. “This
isn’t about taking benefits away from families who legitimately need
assistance. It’s about making sure the program is administered properly,
and taxpayer dollars are protected. Fraud, waste, and abuse have no
place in government.”
Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters at an unrelated event in Chicago on
Thursday that the FY25 error rate largely accounts for months in the
fiscal year before the president signed the law in July 2025 and doesn’t
reflect steps the state has taken to rectify the problem.
“The reality is that when you have an error rate — just want to be clear
with everybody — this is not some sort of waste, fraud, and abuse
issue,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker claimed the state has lowered the error rate below the FY24
level but was not able to provide a specific number.
Federal changes
Illinois and most other states will have to cover a greater portion of
costs for SNAP under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as H.R.
1, based on the state’s error rate.
Beginning in federal fiscal year 2028 that begins in October 2027, many
states will begin covering a portion of SNAP benefits. States with an
error rate greater than 10% will have to cover 15% of the cost of
benefits starting in fiscal year 2029. The delayed implementation gives
the state another year to lower its error rate and potentially pay for a
smaller portion of the benefits.
States with lower error rates would cover a smaller portion of the
benefits and those with an error rate under 6% will not have to cover
any benefits. The national error rate is 10.6% and has declined for two
straight years.
“They’re setting a new bar at 6% and saying, ‘if you can’t get to 6%,
we’re going to take SNAP away or charge you a whole bunch of money,’”
Pritzker told reporters last August. “How do they want us to get to 6%?
By cutting people off of SNAP.”
[to top of second column]
|
SNAP EBT information sign is displayed at a gas station in
Riverwoods, Ill., Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
Illinois is one of 20 states with an error rate of at least 10%, and the
state is expected to pay about $700 million to cover the cost of
benefits because of the penalty.
The state FY27 budget signed earlier this month calls for spending $55
million to hire 450 new employees at the Department of Human Services,
including to help update the state’s systems to comply with federal
changes to SNAP and Medicaid eligibility.
“HR1 is a deliberate effort by the federal government, for the first
time, to push the federal food program’s benefits costs on the states,
stop customers from receiving SNAP food benefits, and let families go
hungry,” DHS spokesperson Rachel Otwell said in an email. “Illinois has
launched an aggressive, multi-year effort to improve payment accuracy
and protect taxpayers from future fiscal exposure.”
Otwell added that “minor errors” by beneficiaries account for the
majority of faulty payments.
DHS plans to implement new technology, increase reviews of people’s
eligibility, train more staff to recognize common errors, and improve
communication with SNAP recipients about what information they need to
report to the state and when.
Also beginning in federal fiscal year 2027, which begins in October
2026, states will have to cover 75% of administrative costs for SNAP,
rather than 50%. Illinois lawmakers appropriated $100 million for
administrative expenses in state FY27, which begins July 1. That’s up
from $60 million in FY26.
The state provided benefits to about 1.5 million people in May,
according to the Illinois Department of Human Services. That was about
88,500 fewer people than in April. About 150,000 Illinoisians were
expected to lose food assistance benefits beginning May 1 after new work
requirements prescribed in H.R. 1 went into effect.
The new state budget established the Families Receiving Emergency
Support for Hunger, or FRESH Program, for people who have lost or seen
their SNAP benefits reduced. They would be eligible for a one-time $400
payment. The program is scheduled to last just one year and is estimated
to cost about $70 million.
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. |
