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Chicago area nonprofits in dismay over Trump administration's federal funding freeze

Chicago nonprofits can't access federal portals even after judge blocks funding freeze
Chicago nonprofits can't access federal portals even after judge blocks funding freeze 03:55

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It remained unclear Tuesday night exactly which federally-funded programs are impacted by a spending freeze on federal grants and loans ordered by the Trump administration — but some local nonprofits said they noticed changes to federal portals online already on Tuesday.

A federal judge Tuesday afternoon temporarily blocked the freeze until Monday of next week pending a further hearing. The ruling came down just as the freeze was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. Eastern time, or 4 p.m. Central time, on Tuesday.

If the freeze ultimately goes ahead, millions in local funding could be in jeopardy. Many Chicago area nonprofits were anxiously waiting all day Tuesday for some clarity on the future of their federal grants.

The White House has called the freeze a "temporary pause," but the nonprofits worry the impact on the populations they serve could be long-lasting if the freeze goes ahead.

"So as of this morning, we are unable to access the federal portal that we use to draw down funds," said John Peller, president and chief executive officer of the AIDS Foundation Chicago. "There's a message that says essentially, 'This is blocked.'"

The error message Peller came across Tuesday morning read, "You are attempting to access eLOCCS [the Line of Credit Control System] outside it's [sic] normal business hours," and went on to say the system was not available Tuesday.

This remained the case even after the judge's ruling blocking the freeze late in the day.

Peller said the organization receives about $26 million in federal funding for housing services —including rent to cover about 1,300 households every month for people living with HIV.

While the foundation already paid the rents for February, next month's rent checks are currently unfunded. What if March comes around and those rents can't be paid because of the freeze?

"I don't want to think about it," Peller said. "We're going to do everything possible to tap into our line of credit."

Chicago nonprofits worry about potential federal grant freeze 02:43

Also worried about the effects the federal funding freeze will have on its programs is Breakthrough. With five locations in the Garfield Park area, the faith-based nonprofit provides housing, education and youth development, as well as health and wellness programs to about 19,000 people every year.

"I think the most promising and hopeful work we do is early childhood education," said Breakthrough executive director Yolanda Fields.

Fields invited CBS News Chicago to Breakthrough's Garfield Park Men's Center, at 402 N. St. Louis Ave. — which provides shelter beds, as well as food and social programs in the East Garfield Park area.

"We aren't talking about frivolous spending," Fields said. "We're talking about essential services that people need to live."

But Fields also woke up this morning to news that the approximately $2 million that Breakthrough receives in federal funding could also be in jeopardy.

"There's no way to really begin to quantify what would be lost if the $2 million that we receive from federal funds were to go away," she said, "and so when we think about serving those who are unhoused, those who are experiencing violence, when we think about those who don't have enough food — all of those things are in jeopardy."

Another West Side nonprofit — BUILD, or the Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development — receives more than $2 million in federal funding for its gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development services.

"We, you know, rely on that funding to do the work that we do," said BUILD Chief Program Officer Monique Draper.

Draper worries that money could be ripped away.

"This is going to leave already vulnerable communities even at a greater risk," Draper said. "This would, you know, absolutely cause us to have to look at where we cut our efforts; where we would have to scale back."

Federal funding freeze on hold, but serious concerns persist in Chicago 02:52

Both Fields and Peller shared concerns about the legality of a funding freeze like the one ordered by the Trump administration, and hope legal challenges provide a swift resolution.

"We are just going to wait to see what happens," Peller said. "This is certainly unprecedented."

Thresholds, a Chicago nonprofit that provides mental health and substance abuse treatment, said they were left unable to access funding owed to them from Veterans Affairs and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday morning, they were still unable to access Housing and Urban Development funding for their homeless and housing programs. Approximately 70% of their budget is federally funded.

"Any delay in funding has a deleterious negative impact on Thresholds immediately, which is why we need the freeze lifted, the funding flowing," Thresholds CEO Mark Ishaug said. "Doing anything that takes funding and support away from one of the economic engines in this country is … the consequences are sort of unimaginable."

CBS News Chicago has also confirmed that before the federal judge's ruling blocking the freeze, the University of Chicago sent out a memo to university employees requesting that all university researchers working on federal grants "temporarily suspend their non-personnel spending on federal grants as much as possible during this period of substantial uncertainty."

The White House's budget office directed federal agencies to assess compliance with President Trump's executive orders — specifically targeting " DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal."

The White House noted that $3 trillion was spent on federal assistance programs in 2024. 

Court puts Trump administration's federal funding freeze on hold 02:23
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