(The Center Square) – Signed into law in the spring, a program known as Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger, or FRESH, is set to send out one-time payments of $400 to Illinoisans who were removed from the federal SNAP program.
The $70 million taxpayer-funded program is part of the state’s FY27 budget, and state officials said about 100,000 residents will receive the payout, which begins distribution Saturday.
The program will only distribute to households who lost SNAP benefits between May and August, when new federal work and eligibility requirements took effect.
UTILITY BOARD PUSHES BACK ON AMEREN OVER NEW RATE HIKES
Electric utility Ameren, which covers southern and central Illinois, wants to raise prices for ratepayers.
The company has made a new claim to the Citizens Utility Board to increase rates for what the company calls a reconciliation filing, totalling $65.3 million.
CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz challenged the company over what she said was wasteful spending, with a burden falling onto customers.
PRITZKER CALLS ON TRUMP TO REVERSE COURSE ON ILLINOIS WORK STOPPAGE
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called on President Donald Trump’s administration to end a work stoppage for the environmental-based Brandon Road Interbasin Project near Joliet.
The project has been in the works for years and is an effort to stop an invasive carp species from entering the Great Lakes, which Pritzker said would heavily impact the regional economy and water supply.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources also sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, requesting the federal government meet with the department to discuss how to move forward.
The letter was not answered before the federal government stopped work for administrative review.
