Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul presented the proposed budget for the Attorney General’s office for the next fiscal year to a Senate legislative committee today in Chicago. Raoul announced that since taking office in 2019, his office has generated an average of $23.47 in revenue for every dollar of taxpayer funding the office received.
“The Attorney General’s office serves Illinois as the people’s law firm, protecting seniors from scammers, supporting victims of violent crime and advocating for the state’s interests,” Raoul said. “We are committed to maintaining vital programs and services to the people of Illinois, even as our responsibilities continue to expand under new statutory requirements and greater enforcement authority of existing state laws, as well as our critical work to protect Illinoisans’ rights from attack by the federal government.”
During the hearing, Raoul highlighted the increased workload resulting from federal actions taken by the Trump administration. Since January, the Attorney General’s office has filed 11 lawsuits and 14 amicus briefs challenging the administration’s unlawful actions. The office is defending the state in two additional cases and is also responding to federal decisions to gut certain agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). While the Attorney General’s office has historically worked in collaboration with the CFPB, an agency created by Congress to protect Americans’ financial security, Raoul explained that state attorneys general must now step up and provide protection in the CFPB’s regulatory absence.
Raoul also highlighted the increased responsibilities the Attorney General’s office has been given under state law. In 2024, more than 65 child support enforcement attorneys transitioned to the office from the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. In 2023, the Attorney General’s office assumed responsibility for the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) from the Illinois State Police. The MFCU handles complex actions, rooting out fraud and recovering taxpayer dollars that have been fraudulently taken in Illinois’ Medicaid program.
In addition to the office’s enhanced statutory responsibilities and work to protect Illinois residents from unconstitutional federal actions, the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Bureau responded to more than 18,900 complaints in 2024. In 2024, the office saved consumers more than $12 million through mediation and secured more than $48 million through enforcement actions. The Attorney General’s office has also secured more than $1.4 billion in payments to Illinois from opioid distributors and manufacturers under settlement agreements following multi-year investigations into the role these companies played in fueling the opioid epidemic.
