Illinois Federal Spending — Week of 2026-09-13
Federal Spending Report: Illinois (September 13-19, 2026)
The federal government obligated $164,000 across two awards in Illinois during the week of September 13-19, 2026, with the Department of Agriculture leading spending through a direct payment to a private contractor.
The largest single award went to Breese Associates, L.P., which received $119,000 in direct payment funding from the Department of Agriculture. The contract represented 73 percent of total federal obligations for the week. Northwestern University secured the second-largest award, a $45,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, accounting for the remaining 27 percent of spending.
Two contractors captured all federal spending activity in Illinois during this period. Breese Associates, L.P. commanded the majority share with its single $119,000 agricultural contract, while Northwestern University, a major research institution based in Evanston, received its grant for health and human services initiatives.
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services split federal obligations evenly by agency, each distributing one award. The Agriculture Department's $119,000 direct payment to Breese Associates dominated agency-level spending, while HHS contributed $45,000 in grant funding through Northwestern University.
The spending breakdown reflects a split between direct payments and grants, with the Agriculture Department's direct payment mechanism outweighing the HHS grant by a significant margin. This distribution suggests distinct federal priorities across agencies, with Agriculture deploying capital through direct contractor payments while HHS supported research or programmatic activities through the university grant structure.
The relatively modest total obligated amount and limited number of awards indicate a slower week for federal spending in Illinois compared to typical weeks, which often see hundreds of millions in obligations across dozens of agencies and contractors.