A change to eligibility for federal food assistance could affect hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans.
Able bodied people ages 18 to 49 without dependents, who work fewer than 20 hours a week, can only receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for up to three months in a three-year period.
The Trump administration wants to eliminate counties' ability to bypass that three-month limit, saying tighter work requirements are needed to make people self-sufficient.
But attorney Nolan Downey, with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, says SNAP supports finding work.
"SNAP is really helping people to meet their nutritional needs so that they can focus on getting a job, and focus on getting out there and participating in employment activities," he points out.
Waivers allowing counties to bypass the three-month limit are given to states where unemployment rates are higher than 10 percent, or more than 20 percent above the national average.
Currently, that includes all but one of Illinois's 102 counties. The state estimates more than 400,000 adults who fall into the waiver parameters will receive at least one month of benefits this year and could be affected by this rule down the line.
Downey notes that half of able-bodied adults without dependents work the same month as receiving SNAP, although the jobs might be part-time.
He calls hunger an all-encompassing issue and says if folks are spending money on food, that takes away from funds for things like transportation or materials needed to get a job.
"If all the expendable income - what little that they have - is going toward meeting their most basic food needs, then the idea of having them going out and finding a job on top of that is extremely daunting, and a lot of times impossible for folks, especially in rural communities," he states.
Public comments on the proposed change are being accepted until April 2.
Meanwhile, SNAP benefits will be coming early for some recipients in Illinois next month.
April benefits will be issued between the first and the 10th and Illinois Department of Human Services spokesperson Patrick Laughlin says recipients won't need to do anything different to get them.
The change is due to the federal shutdown earlier this year, which threw off benefit dates.
Recipients will receive their May benefits as regularly scheduled.
IDHS will be working to communicate the new dates to SNAP customers through the IDHS website, Link website and phone line, a social media campaign and community outreach.
