State of Illinois et al. v. Vought et al.

Docket No.
1:26-cv-01566
District Court
Illinois Northern

Goal

  • Block enforcement of an agency action
  • Declaration that agency action is unlawful
  • Vacate agency action

Issues

Potential Impact:

Why this Matters:

Plaintiff states challenge a federal government directive commanding federal agencies to cut more than $600 million in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants, based on political disagreements with the states’ policies on immigration, political protest, and clean energy. The targeted grants support essential public health infrastructure in the states, including health workforce, disease surveillance, lead poisoning prevention, and emergency preparedness. The states argue that the directive violates the Tenth Amendment, the Separation of Powers doctrine, the Spending Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Potential Impact:

Terminating federal health grants based on political animus will limit local governments in providing essential public health services to their residents, resulting in preventable death and long-term degradation of public health infrastructure.

34 Major Filings

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Related Litigation

Current Status

Briefing is ongoing

Motion for Preliminary Injunction Granted in Part

Legal Issues

Tenth Amendment, Separation of Powers, Spending Clause, Administrative Procedure Act - Lack of Statutory Authority, Administrative Procedure Act - Arbitrary and Capricious

Topic(s)

Funding Termination/Cuts

Date Filed
February 11, 2026
Case Type
Civil
Court Type
District Court
Court
Illinois Northern
Court Division
Eastern
Judge
Shah, Manish S. Appointed By: Barack Obama
Plaintiff(s)
State of Illinois; State of California; State of Colorado; State of Minnesota
Lead Counsel For Plaintiff(s)
Government
Defendant(s)
Russell Vought; Office of Management and Budget; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Department of Health and Human Services; Jay Bhattacharya; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Donald J. Trump; United States; Sean Duffy; Department of Transportation; Kristi Noem; Department of Homeland Security; Karen Evans; Federal Emergency Management Agency
Lead Counsel for Defendant(s)
Government