By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The leading Republican in the Illinois House is raising the alarm that Illinois taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars if the Pritzker administration doesn’t address the food subsidy error rate.

Illinois’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program error rate hit 11.56%, nearly double the 6% threshold that triggers financial penalties. Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said error rate has gotten worse under the Pritzker administration and if not fixed will cost taxpayers.

“When Governor Pritzker came into office, the error rate was 5.73%, which is under the 6% that the federal government is going to be requiring now,” McCombie told The Center Square. “Under J.B. Pritzker’s administration, it’s at 11.56. And this could end up costing Illinois $700 [million] to $800 million.”

The SNAP error rate is for both overpayments and underpayments. Illinois’ error rate is 11.56%, most of which is overpayments.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other leading Democrats have said that President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to cut food assistance for those who need it most to give tax breaks to wealthy taxpayers.

“Let’s assume they’re not cruel, you know what they’re trying to do? They’re trying to take money away from this program and truly, not trying, they just did it, and give huge tax cuts to the wealthiest people of this country,” Pritzker said, referring to an extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that benefits most taxpayers.

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie said Pritzker is deflecting.

“The governor has to address this, put aside his political attack on Trump, saying he’s cutting snap … gaslighting, scaring people, inciting anxiety, and handle the issue at hand,” McCombie said. “This is all on him, and certainly not the first example of agency mismanagement.”

McCombie also sighted Illinois’ mishandling of COVID-era unemployment where audits found $3.2 billion dollars in fraudulent unemployment payments.