Another day, another reminder of how many state government initiatives rely on the increasingly unreliable foundation of federal funding.

The current example comes courtesy of an Illinois Answers Project report on the possibility 8,500 Illinoisans might lose housing through an announced change to long-term subsidies (Capitol News Illinois published the report at tinyurl.com/HousingShift).

Sidney King Pineda said the Department of Housing and Urban Development published new rules Nov. 13, shifting away from the bipartisan standard of housing-first polices. In Illinois, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, most of the 8,500 “permanent-supportive housing beds” come from private landlords likely to evict tenants who no longer have federal funds to cover rent.

“More than 100 groups statewide rely on HUD funding to run affordable apartment buildings or pay rent subsidies to private landlords for people most at-risk of becoming homeless,” King Pineda wrote, “mainly those who live with long-term disabilities or severe mental illness.”

The numbers are clear: HUD’s Continuum of Care program funnels $182 million to Illinois. Chicago and Cook County get almost $140 million. Currently, about 80% of the money goes to provide “permanent” housing for people with disabilities. As of January, HUD wants that percentage to be a third or less, an effective cut of $85 million in spending power.

There’s room for a healthy debate about political considerations at play in the policy shift, but whether someone endorses or rejects underlying motives, the situation illustrates the perils of delivering state services with federal money. When priorities align, the arrangement represents the efficiency of channeling vast federal resources with local agencies led by people truly connected to the communities they serve.

When those priorities diverge, however, those same leaders may find themselves entirely unable to sustain their missions. Regardless of who ties those hands, the heartbreaking delivery of devastating news is a thankless task. These are the people who know the individual stories that aggregate into a number of about 200,000 people returned to homelessness nationwide.

There are few good options. Time travel remains impractical, so we can’t undo trying to help these people. Refusing federal money never makes sense, especially considering Internal Revenue Service figures showing Illinoisans account for 4.35% of federal revenue, fifth among all states.

Finding $85 million in the struggling state budget seems more than unlikely. Lawmakers already slashed tens of millions from housing programs in the Fiscal 2026 budget, not long after Gov. JB Pritzker’s 2023 pledge to bring homelessness in Illinois to “functional zero.”

Absent a monumental policy shift allowing states to directly collect and allocate money currently sent to Washington, D.C., we should expect more stories of state-administered efforts scrambling to remain functional. It’s important to remember the lives such outcomes affect.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.