How will federal funding freeze affect the $89.5M in flood relief for St. Clair County?
U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, said Tuesday that she is trying to get information from the Trump administration about how its plan to freeze federal aid will affect the $89.5 million in federal grant money promised to St. Clair County to help in disaster recovery from the flooding caused when 8 inches of rain fell on July 16.
“We’ve been trying to get answers out of the administration,” said Budzinski, whose district goes from the metro-east to central Illinois. “They had a press conference earlier today that created more questions than answered anything.”
A federal judge on Tuesday put a temporary hold on part of Trump’s plan until Monday, according to CNN.
The White House on Tuesday announced a memo from the Office of Management and Budget announcing the funding freeze had been rescinded. That was followed by statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X, saying only the memo was rescinded but not Trump’s executive order.
“This is NOT a rescission (sic) of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction,” Leavitt’s social media post said. “The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that St. Clair County would get $89.5 million in grant money. The agency said in a news release the money could be used to rebuild homes, develop affordable housing, help small businesses, repair roads and support projects to reduce the risks of damage from future storms.
When asked if the Trump plan to freeze federal aid included the disaster relief promised to St. Clair County, Budzinski said, “I would assume that it is.”
“Part of the problem with this executive order is its vagueness, let alone the fact I think there are legal challenges to it,” she said. “We have to all operate, I think, under the assumption that federal dollars are all being frozen until otherwise we’re notified.”
The Housing and Urban Development aid is classified as “community development block grant disaster recovery.”
Budzinski said St. Clair County officials are working on the details of how the money would be spent. She will attend a previously scheduled meeting with St. Clair County officials on Wednesday regarding the grant money.
This Housing and Urban Development grant is separate from $30.5 million in assistance already provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 7,340 households in St. Clair and Washington counties. The deadline to apply for aid from FEMA was last month.
Concerns in district over freeze on aid
Budzinski said she got calls from mayors across her district Tuesday about the federal funding freeze announced by the Trump administration in a memo Monday.
The local leaders are concerned about how the freeze would affect groups that rely on federal funds and need the money to stay afloat.
“This is going to have very large ramifications,” Budzinski said. “It’s deeply disturbing. To say people are scared and panicked is an understatement.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM.
