Two lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration after it abruptly ended a federal grant that funded after-school programs for thousands of Illinois students and their families.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Thousands of Illinois students and parents, including hundreds connected to Chicago’s Curie High School, rely on federally funded after-school programs. Those programs now face uncertainty after the Trump administration cut the grants without warning.
As a result, the administration is now facing two lawsuits.
Curie High School, one of Chicago’s largest schools, serves a diverse student body on the city’s Southwest Side, with many families living on low incomes.
A $500,000 grant allowed the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council to operate after-school programs for about 500 Curie students and more than 200 parents.
“That grant is covering after-school academic support, tutoring, mentoring, programming, groups and clubs for students, physical fitness for adults, nutrition classes, and art classes for both students and adults,” said Patrick Bronson, executive director of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.
The funding came through ACT Now Illinois, a nonprofit organization.
ACT Now Illinois distributes an $18.5 million annual federal grant across the state to support after-school and community school programs. The Trump administration has now moved to end that funding.
“It is also serving 19,000 students throughout the state,” said ACT Now Illinois Executive Director Susan Stanton. “This is a catastrophic impact.”
ABC7 contacted the U.S. Department of Education seeking an explanation for the cuts but has not received a response.
ACT Now officials say the decision has nothing to do with the organization’s mission to support students and families.
“Their reasoning had to do with the fact that this was a grant awarded under a previous administration, and that our original grant application no longer met the priorities of the current administration,” Stanton said.
Stanton said the Trump administration objected to a question about racial equity included in the grant application during the Biden administration.
ACT Now Illinois and the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council have now filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education, arguing the agency violated federal rules by cutting off funds approved by Congress.
The grant reduction amounts to $55 million over the life of the three-year program.
Because the lawsuits name the U.S. Department of Education, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to hear a request for an emergency injunction on Wednesday.
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