Overview
- Beginning Feb. 1, adults 18 to 64 without dependents under 14 must document at least 80 hours per month of work, training or volunteering to keep benefits.
- Adults who do not meet the requirement are limited to three months of SNAP in a three-year period, with cutoffs expected to begin May 1 for those not exempt.
- Effective April 1, some immigrants with humanitarian protections — including refugees, asylees and certain trafficking victims — lose eligibility.
- Illinois is sending notices, distributing exemption forms and helping recipients find qualifying work or volunteer placements, and about 100,000 people have filed for exemptions so far.
- The Greater Chicago Food Depository warns at least 450,000 recipients could lose benefits by May 1 in a state where nearly 2 million residents rely on SNAP.