(The Center Square) – With SNAP benefit fraud cases sharply on the rise, a new bill making the rounds in Springfield would collect data from the cards as part of an effort to make fraudulent acts more difficult.
"This bill addresses the need for more accountability and transparency in our state’s anti-fraud measures," state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, said in a news release. "By tracking and collecting data on how often SNAP fraud occurs in Illinois, we can develop more effective policies to combat this issue and prevent it from happening in the future."
According to WBEZ, House Bill 2214 would collect data from the cards to better track skimming and fraud, as well as pave the way for the Illinois Department of Human Service (IDHS) to track how often benefits through the SNAP program are stolen from their rightful recipients by attaching card readers that strip information or using small cameras to steal pin numbers to use with duplicate cards they then create.
With the agency only beginning to collect data on card skimming in late 2022, it remains unclear how much theft has actually occurred. The measure now being proposed would require IDHS to report its findings to the General Assembly on an annual basis beginning on Jan. 1, 2024.
At one point, the measure passed by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee also sought to include a trigger that would require the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) to replace stolen benefits with state funds over the first nine months of 2022.
As debate over that issue played out, State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, a former SNAP recipient, pushed for that part of the bill, adding that she’s not sure what state officials are basing their $20 million price-tag for the plan on.
“They refuse to budge,” Harper said of leaders at DHS who fought against the reimbursement trigger.
Last year, Congress passed legislation to replace SNAP benefits stolen between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2024, and HB 2214 is now being touted as a starting point for Illinois to gain a clearer assessment of how large of a problem the issue has become across the state.
With Legal Aid Chicago now representing more than 30 clients whose benefits have been stolen, the measure now moves to the full state Senate for further consideration.