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* First, some background…
If current trends continue, Illinois will have to pay 15% of the total SNAP benefit costs, which, according to the governor’s office, would be $705 million a year.
The reason the state is on the hook for 15% of benefit costs is because of its high SNAP payment error rate, which stood at 11.56% in fiscal year 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s error rates for underpayments to SNAP beneficiaries was less than 1%, but its overpayment error rate was 10.6%.
The new federal law requires that states with SNAP payment error rates of 10% or higher must pay 15% of SNAP benefit costs. The state will struggle mightily to afford that, so lots of people may lose their food aid if things don’t change.
Eleven states, including New York and New Jersey plus the District of Columbia, had higher error rates than Illinois, but 38 had lower error rates.
If Illinois could reduce its error rate to above 8% but below 10% — on par with states like Michigan, Ohio and Texas then it would pay 10% of benefit costs, or $470 million a year.
Reducing Illinois’ error rate to a recent 15-year average of what the Food Resource and Action Center says was 7.1%, would make its annual penalty 5% of benefit costs — or $235 million a year.
And if Pritzker’s administration could decrease the error rate below 6%, then the state would face no additional state penalties at all.
Illinois achieved those lower error rates five times between 2011 and 2017. Eight smaller states, including Wisconsin, had error rates below 6% in FY24.
* Now, this post isn’t about Israel and Palestine, but you’ll see how it develops in a bit. From Gov. JB Pritzker’s gaggle today…
Reporter: Can you talk about how that vote opposed to sending weapons to Israel? Your take on it? Should Palestine be recognized as a state, and how should the next administration treat it?
Pritzker: I’ve responded before, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time, and I’ll just say this. I think the purpose of that resolution, I didn’t introduce it, but the purpose of the resolution seems to have been to send a message that Israel needs to deliver food aid to people who are starving in Gaza. And I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. People are dying because they can’t get food aid there. Oh, by the way, people in the United States will die when they can’t get food aid because of SNAP cuts. So I’m all for us making sure that the Israelis work with us and international community to deliver food to people in need. […]
Isabel: Has there been any progress with reducing the SNAP error rate?
Pritzker: So I don’t know if you understand the SNAP error rate. I just want to give you a little tutorial. I promise it will be short. The SNAP error rate on average in the United States, average state SNAP error rate about 11 percent. Guess what Illinois is, about 11 percent.
What they’re doing, the Republicans, is they’re setting a new bar at 6 percent and saying, If you can’t get to 6 percent we’re going to take SNAP away or charge you a whole bunch of money. So how do they want us to get to 6 percent by cutting people off of SNAP? That is what they’ve done.
So we are working very hard to make sure that we’ve got a process for determining the eligibility of people, making sure we hit the error rate that we need to as best we can. And we’re working very hard every single day to effectuate that. But it’s going to take money to do that. The federal government is not giving us any money to do that, never has before, by the way, but now they’re costing us money. So we want to make sure that we’re actually delivering to the maximum number of people that need SNAP.
I would add one more thing about the error rate. It’s not just an error, as if we’re giving too much money to people. Sometimes the error is we’re giving too little money to people because they don’t report all of their expenses, and so we don’t know exactly how little they actually are taking home. And so that is considered part of that error rate. Once again, Republicans don’t care that we’re under providing. They just want to cut everybody off of SNAP. That is why they’ve set this SNAP error rate so low.
1) Condescending much?
2) As pointed out above, 6 percent is the rate where no penalty is incurred. But increasingly smaller penalties will be assessed at various levels below 10 percent. And, as noted above, Illinois has achieved error rates of 6 percent or lower several times in the past. Yes, times change, but states have had no incentive until now to lower its error rates. Not saying this is a good thing, just saying there’s a new reality afoot and it could cost taxpayers a lot of money or cut people off nutrition assistance.
3) And finally, as mentioned above, the under-payment error rate last year for Illinois was miniscule.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 2:26 pm
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It appears as though the rate was better during the Rauner years.
Interesting.
Comment by This Just In? Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 2:34 pm
How dare Pritzker assume a journalist doesn’t understand the substance of an issue they’re asking about.
Is he wrong about the intention and potential outcome of the change? No he is not.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 2:42 pm
Original reporting on your part.
Thank you.
Comment by cal skinner Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 2:45 pm
I guess I would just say, well, is he wrong? (He’s not in this case)
Comment by West Sider Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:21 pm
We should be more condescending to some of these reporters who purpisefully leave out context and details and facts in their reporting.
Comment by Brandon Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:22 pm
Funny that the Agency just sent out a letter to caseworkers ordering them to come back to the office full-time to address the error rates. After looking at the historicals its hard to make the argument that the administrations lax work from home policies didn’t contribute to the increased rate of error…
Comment by Justgiveitup Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 4:00 pm
Last week, my company hired a new employee. Our office manager came in incredibly frustrated that to submit the necessary paperwork to the state can only be done via a fax number or through the mail. No email address. No online form to fill out. After 3 attempts to fax the item (line never picked up), the document was placed in the mail with fingers crossed. (An invoice mailed 90 days ago, just arrived at a customer’s desk. They live 60 miles away.)
This reminds me of the fraud in the unemployment office during COVID. There was no online method to report the myriad of frauds being conducted. One could only mail in a report. No fax, no email, no phone.
State of Illinois can do better. Technology is our friend.
Comment by Downstate Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 4:07 pm
Background info may not be necessary for Isabel asking the question. But I suspect the reason Pritzker answers that way to to set the bar at “Illinois is actually super average in this regard, so remember that before I say anything else.” Otherwise he likely is worried someone who doesn’t know that just hears “reducing error rate” and assumes Illinois is some sort of outlier with regard to error rates.
Reminds me of how annoyed I got every time someone would make a “oh no crime rates are increasing[banned punction]” article in 2020-2021, but never mention that it was literally a national trend. But local reporters would never include that in their articles.
So I definitely understand why he wants to make clear that Illinois is average before answering the question substantively.
Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 4:17 pm
=== He’s not in this case===
He is in this case so bite me
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 4:19 pm
All I know is that there is a lot of information that goes into an “error” occurring that is beyond the control of a DHS caseworker. So really the only way to significantly reduce the error rate is going to involve asking SNAP recipients to provide a lot more paperwork that they do already.
For instance, someone may say that their rent does not cover utilities because they pay the electric bill. But then it turns out that the landlord is covering gas, water, sewer. That’s going to lead to an overpayment of SNAP benefits, and is largely beyond the control of the caseworker.
Not saying the administration should not do everything it can within reason to get the rate down, but in order to get below 6%, we are likely talking about denying people benefits in their entirety because they didn’t provide all possible required paperwork that would make a $60 difference in how much they would get.
Comment by Juice Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 4:38 pm
-Bite me-
Please, oh great and powerful Oz, explain how he’s wrong then.
Comment by West Sider Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 4:43 pm
Governor Pritzker for his entire time in office has/is big on Governors Speak…….but short on Governor nuts and bolts management of the state…..
Comment by It's always Sunny in Illinois Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 5:04 pm
It is absolutely concerning that the error rate is so heavily biased toward overpayment. It indicates intentional conduct. Perhaps attempts to stretch the rules. Are caseworkers trained to do this? Either way overpayments = government waste and that is what the BBB was designed to eliminate.
Comment by Captain Obvious Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 5:19 pm
“… frustrated that to submit the necessary paperwork to the state can only be done via a fax number or through the mail. No email address. No online form to fill out.”
That is what happens when you cross an auditor with an IT security consultant (wish it was /s, but no). For decades IOC would only take TINs via fax / paper.
Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 5:29 pm
===explain===
If you choose not to read the post then I can’t help you. Also if you choose to be as condescending as the governor then I wouldn’t help you anyway.
We have been trying to get a straight answer to this question for weeks. I’m pretty sick of the evasions and finger pointing. This is real money. The public ought to know that he’s taking this seriously.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 6:09 pm
The governor mansplains alot.
I have noticed it for awhile.
I believe it serves multiple purposes.
1) He is framing the question for people that might NOT be familiar with the topic, which makes sense at a townhall where the audience might not be familiar with the issue, but not at a press gaggle where its everyone in the room’s job to know about the Medicaid error rate.
2) He over-simplifies the problem to create the sense that not only is his approach right, its obviously right and anyone who disagrees is obviously wrong.
3) It’s not ever clear he actually understands the real mechanics of state government and how programs work, and i suspect that’s because he’s never actually involved in administering anything.
Rich is right to be offended by talking points that make little sense. There must be some bias in the system if underpayment error rates are 1% and overpayments are 10%, That is not random.
Also, the Medicaid error rate nationally is about 5%, so we should not act like 6% for SNAP is some unreachable star.
We should probably seei if the department has ever set goals previously for reducing error rates. My guess is not.
Comment by Juvenal Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 10:06 pm
===The governor mansplains alot.===
“So I don’t know if you understand the SNAP error rate. I just want to give you a little tutorial. I promise it will be short.”
That’s textbook.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 10:40 pm