By: Mark Glennon*
Across America, scrutiny is rapidly expanding over taxpayer-funded “NGOs” — nonprofit, non-governmental organizations. Sparked initially by criticisms of federally funded NGOs operating abroad, the movement rapidly intensified as Minnesota’s massive fraud scandal broke.
Now, Illinois is in the crosshairs as federal authorities expand their investigations. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote that fraud similar to Minnesota’s “is almost certainly happening in many other states, especially states like California, New York, and Illinois, which impose lax controls on the use of government benefit funds.”
Separately, Wirepoints has learned that the U.S. Department of Justice has been looking at some of the evidence collected so far by private researchers.
That evidence begins simply with lists showing the staggering number of NGOs and money granted through specific line items for each in State of Illinois budgets. The FY 2025 budget alone specifically shows thousands of NGOs granted at least $3.5 billion in the $53.1 billion budget. The FY 2026 budget contains NGO appropriations on the same order of magnitude.**
Those lists have been compiled by various nongovernment researchers who have combed through the budgets. You can find a simplified version of those two lists at Breakthrough Ideas, run by former Illinois State Rep. Jeanne Ives.
Skim through the lists yourself. You needn’t be a forensic accountant to grimace with suspicion about whether the missions of many organizations are appropriate for taxpayers to fund. For example, there’s Healing Illinois, with $4.5 million from the state in 2025. It’s activities are “designed to build community through knowledge-sharing, deeper interpersonal interactions, and intentional spaces for collective healing, including community-wide murals, visual artistic events, exhibitions, storytelling and discussion that advance racial healing.” Just look at their names and their websites — if you can even find a website. Many have none…continue reading.