Search

Congress has proposed cuts to Medicaid to reduce federal spending. However, this leaves more than 3.4 million Illinoisans at risk of losing coverage. Stephanie Altman, the director of healthcare justice and a senior director of policy, spoke to Reset about the implications.

Despite the challenging climate, our advocates are working tirelessly to win support for our legislative agenda for Illinois, which envisions a state where everyone can thrive. While it’s impossible to predict how the legislative and budget processes will play out, we’re ready to meet the moment.

Stephanie Altman, the Shriver Center’s director of healthcare justice and senior director of policy, discussed the detrimental effects that defunding Medicaid would have on public health and financial stability in Illinois. She highlighted the potential strain on underfunded hospitals serving low-income communities.

Andrea Kovach, a senior attorney for healthcare justice, warned that eliminating a state-run Medicaid-like health care program for immigrant adults would have a devastating impact on individuals and families across the state. “Cancer doesn’t care what someone’s immigration status is. Diabetes doesn’t go away because someone has a particular immigration status. So the cost will still be there,” Kovach said.

Wendy Pollack, the founder and director of the Shriver Center’s Women's Law and Policy Initiative, talked to NPR’s Andrea Hsu about the Trump administration’s reversal of the 1965 executive order forbidding most federal contractors from using discriminatory hiring practices. Pollack, a former union carpenter, said the “end of the executive order sets the stage for a very dire situation for women and people of color.”

An Illinois judge ruled against landlords who threatened to call ICE on tenants. The decision was based on a 2019 law passed by Gov. JB Pritzker that protects renters from retaliation based on their immigration status. Samir Hanna, the director of housing justice, told the USA TODAY that in states without these safeguards, landlords are more likely to mistreat immigrant tenants, "particularly as our current climate creates incentives for abuse.”

Proposed budget cuts threaten fair housing enforcement, putting millions at risk of discrimination and instability. By slashing funding for frontline organizations and gutting HUD’s enforcement capacity, these changes would make it nearly impossible to hold bad actors accountable. At the Shriver Center, we’re fighting back — through legal advocacy, state-level solutions, and coalition efforts to protect people’s rights to safe, stable housing.

The Shriver Center's Hana Urban spoke to Stephanie Altman, director of healthcare justice and senior director of policy, to discuss what cuts to Medicaid could mean for Illinois and lessons from the first Trump administration.

Stephanie Altman, the director of healthcare justice and senior policy director at the Shriver Center, talks about the devastating impact that cutting Medicaid would have on the state of Illinois.