AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) is alarmed at the $1.1 million cut for the state’s HIV sector in the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) proposed budget amidst level funding proposals across HIV-related state line items. The budget proposes the elimination of $50,438 for STI screenings and $1,078,321 for PrEP Medication Access. Cuts of any level threaten our progress in addressing the state’s HIV epidemic and would destabilize treatment, increase new transmissions, and push more people into homelessness. These outcomes that will trigger a domino effect straining other health resources and jeopardizing the lives of people living with or vulnerable to HIV, ultimately costing the state more down the line. Following Illinois Governor Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Budget Address, AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) urges the Governor and State Legislature to protect and strengthen investments in HIV prevention and treatment, as well as housing stability, amid mounting national threats to health care and housing access.
In late 2025, AFC was proud to work alongside community partners in crafting a letter to the Governor highlighting the need for increased HIV state funding. AFC will continue advocating for a $6.5 million increase to the HIV Lump Sum, full funding of $15 million for the African American HIV/AIDS Response Fund, and restoration of the PrEP Medication Assistance Program and STI screening line items at $2 million and $500,000, respectively. AFC further calls for continued and expanded investments in permanent supportive housing, which is essential to health outcomes for people living with and vulnerable to HIV.
The Governor’s proposed $56 billion budget outlines priorities including housing affordability, higher education access, addressing increasing energy costs, among others. However, to meet the needs of the current moment and mitigate the harms of countless federal attacks to the basic human needs of health and housing for millions of Illinoisans, including Illinoisans living with or impacted by HIV and homelessness, our state decision makers must do more to protect the HIV safety net and the housing supports that make HIV care and prevention possible. Increased HIV funding is pivotal in acknowledging and correcting the racial health disparities experienced by people living with and vulnerable to HIV, including the Black, Latine, and LGBTQ+ communities most impacted by HIV.
“Illinois has always led the fight against HIV,” said John Peller, AFC President & CEO. “At a time when federal protections are being stripped away and communities are under attack, our state needs to double down. Investing in HIV care, prevention, and housing isn’t optional. It’s how we save lives and end this epidemic.”
Across the country, HIV systems of care are under pressure. Federal healthcare rollbacks tied to H.R.1 threaten Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans. Currently, 42% of Illinoisans living with HIV rely on Medicaid for their health care (approx. 19,000). Of that specific population, 51% of people living with HIV are on Medicaid because of the ACA’s Medicaid Expansion provision (approx. 10,000 people). AFC estimates that a sizeable percentage of these individuals may lose their Medicaid health care coverage because of new work requirements. Nationally, states are moving to restrict access to medication assistance programs to offset the financial strain. Along with historic cuts to healthcare, the Trump Administration is further aiming to cancel $100 million to public health, STI and HIV prevention grant funding to Illinois. At the same time, new HIV diagnoses in Chicago rose 12.5% in 2024 (the most recent year available), underscoring the urgent need for sustained prevention, treatment, and supportive services.
AFC opposes any reductions to housing programs, including the proposed $10 million cut to the HOME IL program and the $1.4 million cut for mental health supportive housing. At a time when people experiencing homelessness are facing heightened threats from the federal administration, AFC urges state lawmakers in Illinois to instead expand permanent supportive housing and homelessness prevention efforts, so Illinoisans living with or vulnerable to HIV and other chronic conditions can access the care they need, remain healthy and access the safe, stable, and affordable housing they deserve.
We are at a precarious moment, and AFC calls on our state leaders to take a bold and comprehensive stance to fulfill the goals of the Getting to Zero (GTZ-IL) Plan 2.0 to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. The proposed budget fails to meet the needs across sectors, and we are calling on the General Assembly to advance a state budget that meets the moment by considering bold ideas like non-regressive revenue options. Doing so will allow Illinois to sustain HIV prevention and treatment investments, protect Medicaid coverage, remove barriers to lifesaving medications, expand harm reduction strategies, and prioritize housing stability and aging supports so people can live healthy, dignified lives.
For over forty years, AFC has led the fight for HIV treatment and prevention services in Illinois with the support of community partners and legislative champions. To that end, we encourage everyone to support our 2026 State Legislative Advocacy Agenda and sign up for our mobile action network. As federal protections erode, our state must rise to the occasion and refuse to accept defeat. Together, we can ensure every Illinoisan has both healthcare and a stable place to call home.
