The Republican's office released a list of targeted programs late Friday that included funding to pay for the funerals and burials of public-assistance recipients, smoking cessation, teen programs, autism, and HIV and AIDS programs, among other things.
Rauner also froze $3.4 million in funding for immigrant integration assistance as part of ongoing efforts to keep the state rolling through the June 30 end of the fiscal year.
Rauner's office said the check-writing halt - he also interrupted $180 million in parkland grants in March - is necessary because the expenditures were based on the assumption a temporary income tax would be extended past January, but it wasn't after Rauner won the election.
"Part of the solution to solving the inherited $1.6 billion budget hole without raising taxes or increasing borrowing is to continue to evaluate the current fiscal year's budget," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. "The governor's office worked with agencies to see which grants could be suspended and prioritized essential services."
The cuts will save the state $21.8 million in Department of Human Services Grants and $4.5 million in unexpended funding through the Department of Public Health. The suspensions only affect this year's funding, Kelly said.
But there's always another price - this one paid for by constituents who, as soon as Monday morning, will be told through closed doors there's no more money to help them.
