Tedora Brown, a candidate for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District, said the Trump administration’s freeze of billions in federal child care and social services funding exposes longstanding mismanagement in Illinois and places blame on state leadership for leaving the state vulnerable.
The Trump administration is freezing more than $10 billion in federal child care and social services funding nationwide, including substantial allocations for Illinois, amid concerns that benefits were fraudulently diverted to non-citizens, according to the New York Post. Programs affected include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care Development Fund, and the Social Services Block Grant.
“This should have been done long ago,” Brown told the Rockford Sun. “It will, unfortunately, impact services to the neediest; however, the blame for this lies at the feet of Pritzker.”
Federal officials have formally requested detailed recipient records from Illinois dating back to 2019 as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of social services funds. While governors in other Democratic-led states publicly condemned the move as political retaliation, Illinois officials had not publicly responded at the time, according to the New York Post.
Brown said that a federal review of Illinois’ programs would likely uncover additional mismanagement.
“When the Feds start looking, they will probably find a similar situation,” she said.
U.S. Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York entered a temporary restraining order Jan. 9 against the administration’s freeze on federal child care and family assistance funds for low-income families in Illinois, according to USA Today. The ruling followed a lawsuit brought by Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after the funds were withheld.
On Feb. 6, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s $10 billion freeze on child care and family planning funding across five Democratic-led states, including Illinois, according to ABC7 Chicago. Judge Vernon S. Broderick of the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction requiring the administration to resume disbursement of the funds. The administration pointed to fraud concerns but produced no corroborating evidence. The injunction stands pending a final court ruling on the legality of the freeze.
The freeze comes amid reports that Minnesota’s social-services system was exploited through what federal prosecutors call “industrial-scale fraud,” involving fake nonprofits and businesses billing the state for services never provided. According to the New York Post, investigators say the alleged theft may total as much as $9 billion since 2018, making it one of the largest public-benefit fraud schemes in U.S. history.
Suspects allegedly constructed fake child care operations, forging client records and enlisting family members, with some traveling from out of state to carry out the scheme. The operation has yielded 92 defendants, dozens of convictions, and evidence that millions were transferred overseas or spent on high-end goods.
As new details emerged, including a viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley showing nearly empty, state-subsidized childcare centers collecting millions in funds, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz abruptly suspended his re-election campaign. Republicans cited the move as evidence of accountability failures under his leadership, according to Minnesota State Wire.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the Minnesota scandal, stating that it has exposed widespread mismanagement in multiple states.
“Governor Walz has destroyed the State of Minnesota, but others, like Governor Gavin Newscum, JB Pritzker, and Kathy Hochul, have done, in my opinion, an even more dishonest and incompetent job,” Trump said on Truth Social. “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!”
Little over a year ago, Gov. Pritzker publicly praised Walz after Vice President Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate, calling him a “proven leader who brings to public service the big heart and hard work of a Midwesterner” and noting, “We hit it off immediately. We have each other’s cell phone numbers. We talk to each other on a fairly frequent basis,” according to ABC7 Chicago.
Brown called for the elimination of nongovernmental organizations she sees as mismanaging taxpayer funds.
“I believe these organizations (NGOs) should be abolished altogether,” she said.
In May 2025, Illinois House Republicans, including State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), said more than $1 billion in taxpayer money was being funneled to politically connected nonprofits. Halbrook said $14 million for the Indo-American Center was “just a drop in the bucket,” according to The Center Square. Republicans put forward a pared-down $44 billion state budget, which Pritzker-aligned lawmakers in the General Assembly ultimately dismissed.
Brown accused Democratic officials of frequent misuse of taxpayer dollars and questioned where state funds are being spent.
“Democrats, in my opinion, regularly engage in any form of taxpayer fraud that they can think up. We haven’t even begun to investigate where all the Illinois money is going to – because remember, the state keeps raising our taxes, saying we do not have enough money,” she said. “Where did it all go?”
Illinois House Republicans cited findings from the Illinois DOGE series showing that more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds flowed to nonprofits with minimal oversight, according to the Macon Reporter. Major recipients included the Indo-American Center ($25 million), ONE Northside ($1.25 million), the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ($11.4 million since 2020, including $4 million in FY25), Centro de Trabajadores Unidos ($7 million total), the Black Researchers Collective ($700,000 annually), the Chicago Therapy Collective ($1.5 million in FY24), and TMH Mancave ($750,000). Additionally, over $73 million went to local chambers and economic development nonprofits, and racial, ethnic, and religious NGOs received $237 million.
Brown described state-funded handouts as excessive and in urgent need of reform.
“The taxpayer-paid handouts are so outrageous, they need to stop,” she said. “That may sound drastic, but it is completely out of control.”
She pledged to rigorously oversee taxpayer money and said she is uniquely positioned to win in November due to her broad coalition of supporters.
“Readers should know that I will keep a close eye on finances belonging to taxpayers and will call for RICO charges for any organization that is stealing money from taxpayers,” Brown said. “Readers should also know that in my race IL-11, I strongly believe I am the only candidate who has the ABILITY to win the crossover votes needed in November to beat the Democrat because I have a large coalition of voters, including several demographics that the other candidates simply do not have.”
Brown, a Republican, is challenging seven-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Illinois) for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District.
Illinois’ 11th Congressional District, in the Chicago metropolitan area, spans parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties. Key cities include Aurora, Joliet, Naperville, Crest Hill, and Warrenville, along with numerous villages.
