The bank was set to close.
The federal government on Tuesday planned to stop issuing funding to nonprofits, local governments, small businesses, universities and other agencies across the country.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the order, minutes before it was scheduled to take effect. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Monday.
The White House on Wednesday rescinded its memo to freeze federal funds, but reiterated its plans to review federal spending.
Still, the funding freeze left Bloomington-Normal nonprofits and government agencies scrambling and confused.
Michael Brown is head of the Ecology Action Center [EAC], an environmental nonprofit in Normal. Brown said he had little time to talk because of the 4 p.m. deadline to get federal reimbursements.
“We have received none and so that’s one of the things we are working on today,” said Brown, referring to a federal grant for a strategic plan with McLean County government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “[We’ll] hopefully beat the deadline, but we’ll wait and see.”

Brown was not alone in doing an emergency bank run. In less than 24 hours, the federal government announced a pause on funding, then cut off reimbursements.
For the City of Bloomington, it came even sooner. Grants manager William Bessler said the city's reimbursement portal was cut off by noon.
“It doesn’t leave a lot of time for local governments and our nonprofit partners to manage this massive change,” Bessler said.
The city uses federal Community Development Block Grant [CBDG] funding for housing rehabilitation, sidewalk improvements and repairs, homeless services and more. The city also manages a lead hazard removal program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD].
“All these things are incredible investments in our community and they are really important services,” Bessler said. “This disruption in service, even if temporary, has a profound negative impact."
Bessler said the city is waiting on $800,000 in reimbursements for this budget year — and up to $2 million for future years.
Medicaid offline
The Trump memo also coincided with the online Medicaid portal going offline. It's unclear how that was connected to the funding pause. Gov. JB Pritzker's office said the government-funded health insurance program for low-income adults, children and people with disabilities had been stripped of funding on Tuesday morning.
That impacts numerous health care agencies, including the McLean County Center for Human Services [CHS] in Bloomington that provides behavioral health services and runs an urgent care site for people in mental health crisis.
“It’s going to have a huge impact on the health and welfare of our most medically and emotionally fragile members of our community,” said CHS CEO Joan Hartman.
Hartman said the center relies on federal funding not just for Medicaid, also for its mobile crisis response team and housing services for people struggling with mental illness.
The center has about $2 million dollars in limbo. Hartman said it would take weeks before they get some direction.
“Pausing all grants and loans, I don’t know what that means,” she said.
The funding freeze has left many nonprofits waiting for answers.
Holly Ambuehl of Normal advocates for nonprofits across the state through the group Forefront.

“Not only are future funds at risk, but we’re concerned that some of the funds that have already been allocated and may be under contract are also threatened,” said Ambuehl, who recommends nonprofits let their private donors know about their predicament. Perhaps they can help lessen the impact — even just a little.
“Private philanthropy definitely wants to help, but there is no replacement for government spending in terms of scale. It’s impossible to replace billions, trillions of dollars,” she said.
Ambuehl pointed to several lawsuits that are being filed to try to stop the executive order. The state of Illinois has joined on one lawsuit. She hopes the government funding will be restored, but said the impact is already irreversible.
“There’s already been damage done,” she said, adding the uncertainly has galvanized the nonprofit community.
“Folks are paying attention and ready to engage,” she said.
Uncertain future
The federal funding freeze was meant as a pause. How long a freeze is unclear. The federal Office of Management and Budget has a Feb. 10 deadline for federal agencies to review and determine the best use of the money. The executive order also states it will not support financial assistance for certain programs, including “DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion], woke gender ideology and the green new deal.”
Brown with Ecology Action Center said he went through this before during the first Trump administration, and is not sure the center's climate change and environmental justice efforts will survive.
“The administration is not interested in these projects and in fact is hostile toward this kind of work,” he said.
Brown said the center is waiting on close to $1.5 million for several initiatives, including two related to air quality and one related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Administrators at Illinois State University and Heartland Community College, which both rely on federal funds, said they are closely monitoring the situation to see how it impact student aid and other programs.
“No matter the implications of policy changes and the potential interpretations of those changes, we continue to maintain our focus on our primary purpose at the college: supporting the success of our students,” said Heartland spokesperson Steve Fast. “College leadership is currently reviewing some proactive steps to ensure that our students continue to have access to educational opportunity and the resources needed to meet their academic goals."
Heartland received about $9.4 million in federal funds in fiscal year 2024, making up about 6% of the college’s budget. ISU receives about 8% of its funding from grants and contracts, a portion of which are federal.
Rivian, which recently secured a $6 billion grant to help build a new electric vehicle plant in Georgia in the final days before President Donald Trump took office, has not responded to WGLT’s requests for comment.
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told Automotive News last week that it’s a legally binding agreement that took years to negotiate.
Hartman with the McLean County Center for Human Services said all this uncertainty is unsettling for her clients and staff, adding she doesn't want to take action until she gets clarity from the federal government. She hopes the government also hears a clear message from all those left waiting.
“I think it’s really important for people to say to themselves, is this what is really in the best interest of our community?” Hartman said. “If it’s not, they have a voice in things, too, to be able to say, ‘I don’t agree with this.'"
Hartman said the center has no plans to cut back on services. How leaders will make that happen isn't clear.