* Background is here and here if you need it. Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and his running mate today unveiled their “Blueprint for Illinois,” which includes a “DOGE” component…

We’re not going in here with a chainsaw. We’re going in here with an X-Acto knife. We are doing this as a purely public policy effort. This is not politically driven. If you look on the governor’s commissions and boards, he has 327 commissions that he makes appointments to. Why is it that there’s nothing about government accountability, that there’s nothing about transparency, that there’s no oversight on these grants and the procurements. In Illinois, we have all sorts of different commissions and boards for everything else except good governance and public policy. […]

You may remember, in 2021 when I was serving as a State Senator, some of the House Republicans asked for a resolution for a forensic audit of our budget. Within moment of getting that resolution drafted, they were contacted and they were told that, hey, that’s impossible. I think it was going to possibly take four to six years, and it was going to cost in excess of $6 million to do that. That is absolute nonsense, and it is proof that no one knows where this money is going, and the people of Illinois deserve to know. […]

[Regarding the new federal cuts to social programs] I think the Pritzker administration is guilty of not working with some of the laws, the bylaws that exist in making that happen. It’s again, what’s it revolve around? It revolves around transparency. No one knows, the federal government doesn’t know where that money is going. They suspect that it’s not being used appropriately. So again, where’s the Pritzker administration stepping up to say, hey, I want to go sit down with the President. We’re going to work that out. Because that is money that Illinois needs desperately. But I put that full blame on JB Pritzker that we don’t have it instead of President Trump.

I think it’s fair for any administration to demand accountability, and when they suspect fraud and they ask for accountability and transparency and they’re not given that, I think the taxpayers at the end of the day are going to respect that, and hopefully we can come up with a quick solution, because I know children all across this state are suffering because of that. I put that responsibility squarely at the feet of JB Pritzker.

Please pardon any transcription errors.

Click here to see why a forensic audit would be so time-consuming and expensive. And it’s totally fine that the feds suspect wrongdoing. But the government has provided no proof at all that it is happening in Illinois.

* From Ted Dabrowski…

During a press conference on Tuesday, gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski demanded Gov. J.B. Pritzker defend the massive growth in state Human Services spending and called for a forensic audit.

Spending on Human Services, the same kind of spending subject to fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere, has skyrocketed during Pritzker’s time in office.

Take total state and federal spending on “Child Care Services.” That’s grown by $2 billion since 2019, an increase of 300%.

That’s eight times more than the 37% growth in Illinois’ General Fund budget over the same time period.

Or look at total spending on “Home Services.” That’s grown by $800 million, an increase of 130%. That’s 3.5 times more than the General Fund.

Or take “Community Care.” It’s grown by $700 million, an increase of 80%. That’s twice the growth of the budget.

In all, there are over $11 billion more dollars being spent on Human Services – more than double compared to when Pritzker took office.

* From Gov. Pritzker’s press conference today…

Q: Do you support a legislative initiative for the Auditor General to audit human service spending to offset perceptions that President Trump is trying to foster, that Democratic run social programs are rife with fraud?

Pritzker: Well, I know that there are some potential Republican opponents of mine who are suggesting that that’s necessary at this moment, even though they he served in the legislature, I don’t know if he noticed there is an Auditor General that exists in the state of Illinois, and we constantly get audited. And by the way, we have a very robust system of oversight checking in on the child care centers across the state of Illinois. So what he’s suggesting is redundant, and I don’t think anybody in Illinois thinks that we ought to do what Elon Musk did to the federal government in the state of Illinois.

Q: Just as a follow up to that, have you heard any sort of timeline about when the funding freeze could be implemented? And also, as an aside to that, we’re hearing that there are concerns from daycare centers that there are actually influencers showing up trying to get inside the way that they did in Minnesota.

Pritzker: Yes, frankly, it’s posing a danger to some of those childcare centers that these right wing influencers are trying to barge their way in to ask questions, to disrupt things, to create a scene so they can get something on a video. We have been notified by letter and that they are discontinuing for the time being, payments to TANF, Temporary Assistance with needy families. Much of that money goes to child care, as well as child care grants that come from the federal government and a few other programs. And of course, you know, we’re responding as we think it’s appropriate. There is no specific allegation of any fraud against the state of Illinois. There’s been no investigation that the federal government has yielded some evidence to come forward about any of it, and note that they picked five states to cut off funding for. All of them are run by Democratic governors that he doesn’t like. And so I it’s clear this is political. This isn’t about going after fraud. This is simply about politics for Donald Trump and attacks on people that he disagrees with Governor. […]

Q: Your HHS deputy secretary told us yesterday that all Illinois has to do is show the receipts, and the funding is unfrozen. So why not just do that?

Pritzker: We do all the time. It’s all available for anybody to look at. And I mean, that’s not a problem for us. We don’t have to deliver anything. We’ve not there have not been any allegations. Why are they not asking Oklahoma for this? Why are they not asking Wyoming for this. Why are they not asking Texas for this? Well, there’s a reason.

That last question hugely over-simplifies what the feds are asking for…

To aid ACF in a timely review, I am requesting that the State of Illinois provide the complete universe of TANF administrative data that exist and are in the state’s possession for all recipients for all available years, and at least 2022 to 2025. This includes recipient name, address, Social Security Number (if collected), date of birth, A-number (as applicable), and any state identification numbers used for program administration. This information, requested pursuant to 45 C.F.R. § 98.90, is necessary for ACF to conduct a thorough review of program operations and to assess the extent of any irregularities that may have occurred.

ACF also requests documentation demonstrating that the State of Illinois has verified the eligibility of all TANF applicants and recipients in accordance with the requirements of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1611, which limits TANF eligibility to United States citizens and qualified aliens. This documentation should include the policies, procedures, system controls, and verification records used by Illinois to confirm citizenship or qualified alien status during the application and recertification processes.

In addition to individual-level recipient data, ACF is requesting a comprehensive list of all organizations, subcontractors, service providers, local agencies, community groups, and any other entities that received TANF funds from the State of Illinois, directly or indirectly, during the period from 2019 through 2025. For each organization, to the extent the information exists and is in the state’s possession, I request the amount of TANF funding provided, the purpose for which the funds were awarded, and documentation describing the State’s oversight mechanisms, monitoring activities, and verification processes used to ensure proper use of TANF dollars.

And all that is due in about three weeks.