Illinois food assistance error rate continues to grow as federal penalties loom
Data released Wednesday, June 24, 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.
Open interactive graph in a new tab
The federal government defines an erroneous payment as one that is $57 higher or lower than it should have been. Only Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, New Mexico, and the District of Columbia had higher error rates than Illinois in FY25.
“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’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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.”
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.
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.
