
Illinois Members of Congress on SNAP, Government Shutdown
Clip: 11/3/2025 | 12m 23sVideo has Closed Captions
The federal government shutdown is on track to become the longest in U.S. history.
Funds for a handful of federal programs, including food assistance for millions of Americans, dried up over the weekend as a result of the ongoing government shutdown.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Chicago Tonight is a local public television program presented by WTTW
WTTW video streaming support provided by members and sponsors.

Illinois Members of Congress on SNAP, Government Shutdown
Clip: 11/3/2025 | 12m 23sVideo has Closed Captions
Funds for a handful of federal programs, including food assistance for millions of Americans, dried up over the weekend as a result of the ongoing government shutdown.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Chicago Tonight
Chicago Tonight is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.

WTTW News Explains
In this Emmy Award-winning series, WTTW News tackles your questions — big and small — about life in the Chicago area. Our video animations guide you through local government, city history, public utilities and everything in between.Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship>> The federal government shutdown is on track to become the longest in U.S.
history by tomorrow night with Democrats and Republicans in Washington.
No closer to a spending agreement funds for handful of federal programs, including food assistance for millions of Americans dried up November.
First as a result of a shutdown, the Trump administration today agreed to release contingency funds to partially keep SNAP benefits coming following to federal court orders.
But a long-term solution continues to evade law makers.
Joining us with more are.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, Democrat representing parts of Chicago's West side, Congressman Bill Foster, a Democrat from Naperville and Congressman Sean Casten, a Democrat from Downers Grove.
We also invited the Republican Congress members from Illinois, but the they either declined or did not reply.
I think the 3 of you for joining us.
Welcome back.
Representative Kasten to you first.
The Trump administration, as we've said, has agreed to pay half of the regular amount of SNAP benefits in November.
Following the court order from a federal judge in Rhode Island around 1.8 million Illinoisans are enrolled in snap.
What is your reaction to the administration's decision only to restore funding partially?
>> You know, there's there's an old Chris Rock joke about people wanting credit for things they're supposed to do.
And in this case, the Trump administration has done half of what they're supposed to do.
The law's very clear that this contingency fund exists.
was also clear that there's a transfer fund that they can take money from other funds, which would be sufficient to fully fund.
The fact that the Trump administration, who, by the way, seems to be completely unconstrained by the law would mandate or streets with ICE.
Officers can seems to be completely unconstrained by the law when when steal money of prop up their crypto regimes.
Now is saying that they can to honor the that would feed hungry people.
You know, I'm glad the court said they have to do it.
But there still saying they can leaf and a half or there's going to be some delays that's leading to a ton of uncertainty going into the holiday season.
Well, Donald Trump really great Gatsby parties at Mar-A-Lago.
it's so you know, I'm glad that some of the money is flowing through, but it's still less than is what's legally required.
And it's just evil.
That amounts to put it.
>> Representative Ramirez, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson today spoke on the president's focus on restoring SNAP benefits.
Let's listen to them.
>> The president is desperate for snap benefits to flow to the American citizens who desperately rely upon it.
He has been over backwards, as you know, to get the troops pay too.
Keep with funding going.
He's found creative solutions to what the president said logically was OK, your honor, if you're saying we can do it, I'll go for that because I want to have to go to the people is the Democrats that stopped it?
Not So tell me how to do it because I have all my personnel here in the office, the legal minds and the and the number crunchers.
And they're trying to figure out how this can be done.
Give us some guidance.
We're glad to do it.
>> Representative what's your reaction?
First to speak or Johnson's argument that Democrats cut off SNAP funding and second to the administration's argument that there's no easy way to restore it.
>> You know, it's hard to hear Speaker John someone, you know, he's full of lies is super critical.
This Republican government shutdown its there's it's appalling that willing to live the way they children are starving the president if he wanted to fully fund snap today, he could.
He always finds a way to get what he wants done.
But there's a ballroom.
We're giving ICE agents billions of dollars.
He couldn't make sure kids are eating today and that's a choice that they're making.
You Congressman Cass and say the funds are there.
He could immediately make those transfers.
And even though the judge has ruled that he has to priests or snap.
Those snap benefits will not be available according to him for weeks, people will start as a result of it.
And it's a choice.
It cruel choice that Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson are making every single day, you know, against the children that they say that they care about.
>> Representative Foster, we know a lot of what this comes down to is the fact that congressional Democrats want to make a set of Obamacare tax subsidies that were expanded.
You'll want to make those permanent.
Republicans have said that those subsidies provide health care for illegal immigrants.
But is it the Democrats stance that you all will not open the government until you've gotten some guarantee on those subsidies being made permanent.
For those who are receiving them.
>> One of the things that happened, I'm sure all of us is that since the since the price estimates for insurance came out.
Now we're getting flooded by people are saying what is this?
My insurance costs are going to double.
All right, which is what the experts told us going into this was going to happen to know what's happening and people are saying how am I going afford insurance?
You know, the estimates are somewhere in the range 50 million people are going to end up losing insurance through a combination of Medicaid cuts then price increases of where they simply won't be able to afford insurance more.
And real previous shutdowns of always bordered on the same health care discussion and Republicans have painted Obama care since its and since its inception since I voted for it.
You know, back many years ago.
Now.
And and they pine, they're finding every way they can to kill it.
And one of the ways to kill it is to take away these tax credits that crucial for many, you know, millions of families in America to report health insurance that are taken away.
And and it's, you know, that this is not a who gave.
how Ted Cruz was holding the floor reading green eggs and ham, you know, to shut down to go.
You know, it was fight over health care.
They want cut them they want to cut it.
Now.
>> That said, if Republicans don't give in, if the Democrats don't given, how will the government get to be reopened?
Representative Foster.
>> Look at we first off.
We should be negotiating Washington and Speaker Johnson has no excuse for why he's holding the house owner such out a social were not.
We should be in Washington.
First off, doing the normal business of Congress just because a government shutdown doesn't mean we can't be having hearings.
But most importantly, actually negotiating on this.
You can see Republicans all over the country saying, of course, we have to negotiate getting the subsidies back for health care and a they've agreed to the principle that they say we can't do during shutdowns.
And that just, you know, another thing, they're saying that just simply not true.
>> hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed without pay since the shutdown began.
The largest federal workers union is calling for a short-term funding bill that would reopen the government, restart their paychecks.
Something Democrats have rejected.
Congressman cast.
And what do you say to those workers, including some who may have supported the Democratic Party but are running out of time because they're running out of money.
>> So it doesn't it with a lot of those workers.
Those workers include all of our There's no reason why we should have to go through the sacrafice revenue.
I think you know, when you know, all of the continuing resolution that have been and it's always the same solution.
You fund the government on a temporary base based on the last complete funding package that was passed by by by the House and Senate.
Until you get through.
The difficulty the Johnson and through have been, frankly, the difficulty we have Democrats.
Is that the last time there was a pool funding package passed through it, see Pelosi was the speaker.
Under through and Johnson's leadership.
We have passed 0 appropriations during the entirety of the last fiscal year.
And Johnson wrote a bill to the floor that said, we want to fund it at the last appropriations package.
You get overwhelming bipartisan vote.
That's the way through.
Johnson isn't doing that.
That because when McCarthy Kevin McCarthy did that, lost his job.
Because a significant part of his own caucus revolt.
so what they're asking us to do is not to continue to fund the government current levels that the at levels that bacon, all of the illegal cuts, the unconstitutional cuts, the power grab come from the White House.
saying we do not want to honor congressional funding levels and that's never going to be a bipartisan idea that you need 60 votes in the Senate.
I'm not happy about the fact that our air traffic controllers are federal employees are losing over that.
But I would submit to you that the with the White House is already completely eliminated agencies like like USAID, like the Consumer Financial Protection Board, his could the Department Education and if we're going to fight for those federal workers were going to fight for all of not just the ones that happen to be favored by the Trump White House.
>> So as Speaker Johnson yesterday, he said that November first, could mark a turning point in the shutdown.
Here he is.
>> I don't know how they can believe they're winning if it were indeed a game to them.
And I think it is because you have all the unions now coming out against them.
You have major airlines in the country.
You have every segment of the population and hard-working Americans who will be going without you.
42 million recipients of snap that are in jeopardy right now.
You have women, infants and children because the nutrition program that President Trump in the White House of her oakleaf and it thus far is running out of money.
And of course, the troops.
I mean, we've got them paid now for 2 cycles, but that money's not inexhaustible.
And it's running now.
And so increasingly the American people will be feeling the pain.
And after week pass the threshold of the first of this month, it's very real for more and more people.
>> Representative Ramirez with funding for programs like early education food assistance, military pay up in the air or congressional Democrats who feeling any increased pressure to get this done.
>> Johnson can sell that.
He saying that he has the ability the power to call us back into session tomorrow.
To actually negotiate a continuing resolution that actually restores health care, make sure the snap benefits are paid and that we bring back all the federal workers, including the federal workers are furloughed and hot.
They're not able to process the housing subsidies we could be doing that right now.
Johnson can cause and secession get that resolution going.
But what he's saying is I passed a resolution 6 weeks ago the only resolution are going to have.
I'm not willing to negotiate if you don't like it then so be it.
That's not how it works.
willing to call us into session because he wants to protect Donald Trump from the Epstein files being released.
That is what's happening.
He's willing to starve children so that I believe that the how about this not get sworn in, we don't have to 18 signatures to release those files and we don't reopen.
The government was a new container resolution.
It is a choice he's made every single day.
>> Just about out time.
Representative Ramirez.
Well, we've got you, of course, the eip ice operations that have been going on in Chicago last week.
Governor Pritzker asked U.S.
Homeland Security Security Secretary Kristi Noem to pause on the ice reads over the hollow Halloween holiday weekend.
She called that request shameful.
What is your reaction?
There was a reported noticeable decline in Halloween and day of the dead activities in Chicago over the weekend.
>> Yeah, of course.
Over because ICE agents masks, Asians and these that they were every single day for terrorizing people in my district and all over the Chicago area.
It is pure evil.
What you were saying with no accountability.
It is a shame that our speaker is willing to celebrate the terrorizing.
The children were not sleeping and night out of fear that ice will take their family or hurt them too.
That is what's happening in Chicago every single day.
Well, we are in a government shutdown, but they have enough money to be sending these agents and his unmarked cars to terrorize people throughout the Chicago area.
thing will have to.
>> That's where we'll have to leave it.
Thanks to the 3 of
Meet Adler Planetarium's New President
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: 11/3/2025 | 7m 35s | Elizabeth Babcock shares her vision for the historic institution. (7m 35s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
- News and Public Affairs

Top journalists deliver compelling original analysis of the hour's headlines.

- News and Public Affairs

FRONTLINE is investigative journalism that questions, explains and changes our world.












Support for PBS provided by:
Chicago Tonight is a local public television program presented by WTTW
WTTW video streaming support provided by members and sponsors.
