Overview
- He signed the order Wednesday at a Taylorville farm, directing Agriculture and Commerce agencies to strengthen in‑state markets and preserve farm‑family mental‑health services including the 833-FARM SOS helpline.
- A second order to be signed Thursday will channel $20 million from IDHS and the BRIDGE Fund to food banks starting Nov. 1 to soften potential benefit lapses.
- Illinois has joined about two dozen states in suing to require the Trump administration to use contingency reserves to keep SNAP funded during the shutdown.
- State officials say a funding halt would strip roughly $350 million in November benefits from 1.9 million Illinois recipients.
- Pritzker linked farm stress to federal trade policies, citing soybean losses of $100–$200 per acre, higher input costs, and threats from tariff‑free Argentine beef to a $13.7 billion export sector.