CHICAGO (WLS) — Gov. JB Pritzker took the podium on Tuesday afternoon within minutes of President Donald Trump’s imposed deadline for federal departments to cease spending on financial assistance programs, which the governor said they only found out about not even 24 hours ago.

However, within minutes of the White House attempting freezing billions of dollars in federal grants and loans, a federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze from taking effect.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

This freeze has been a source of confusion for the many organizations that rely on federal funding to operate and the millions more Americans who depend on those organizations.

The agencies are ordered to comply and cease spending on any programs they believe conflicts with Trump’s recent executive orders on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, foreign aid, and climate spending, among others.

The Trump administration claims federal dollars that go directly to individuals, like Medicare, will not be impacted.

“It does not affect any service that the government is required to provide. It does not affect any entitlement, does not affect any service to citizens,” said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

“This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance in grant programs from the Trump administration. Individual assistance that includes, I’m not naming everything that’s included, but just to give you a few examples, social security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Despite those assurances, Pritzker says the Medicaid system was down on Tuesday in Illinois and other states across the country.

“I believe it is my duty to report to you the truth of what actually happened today in Illinois. Donald Trump’s administration is lying to you. The White House’s attempt to walk back what they did today does not match what we saw on the ground. They assured us that Medicaid would not be affected. That was a lie. Our state agencies were unable to access the Medicaid system until an hour ago, preventing payments for services,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker said that is not a coincidence, and that what Trump is trying to do is illegal.

“The consequences of their actions are not hypothetical. They are not numbers on a spreadsheet. These are real people, ordinary Americans struggling to afford groceries, rent and healthcare,” Pritzker said.

Illinois is among 22 states plus Washington, D.C. who are suing the Trump administration, arguing that the president exceeded his authority as president by denying funds appropriated by Congress.

“It’s outrageous. It’s illegal. It’s unconstitutional. It’s immoral,” said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois. “The president cannot unilaterally cut programs or change the spending priorities that were laid out by the people and Congress.”

And now, organizations across the country and in Illinois that rely on federal funding must also rely on checks and balances.

El Valor, a Chicago-area nonprofit, supports children, people with disabilities, and their families. Executive Director Jillian Gonzalez says roughly two-thirds of their funding comes from the federal government.

“We’re thinking worst case scenario at this point as an organization, as far as, how do we go bare bones to make sure that our employees have their paychecks because they matter and they’re a part of this economy, and then how do our families have access to the services that they desperately need?” Gonzalez said.

John Pellar, the president and CEO of AIDS Foundation Chicago, says the mission of the organization is twofold – to end the HIV epidemic and to end homelessness.

Both issues disproportionally affect people of color.

“We know that when people living with HIV are unstably housed. They can’t take medications to manage their HIV disease,” Pellar said.

According to Pellar, 80% of their funding comes from the federal government. But Pellar said, to the organization’s alarm, they could not access those funds on Tuesday.

“We went to check the portal that we access to download federal grants. Kind of like going to your bank, and all of a sudden, it said, ‘blocked,'” Pellar said.

Congressman Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, says the president does not the authority to disrupt such funding.

“These are funds that have been authorized, appropriated and signed into law,” Quigley said.

Quigley, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transit and Housing, says money that was committed, like the $2 billion for the CTA Red Line expansion, cannot be suspended.

“The day after the election, I called Governor Pritzker and Dorval Carter and said, you’ve got to get this deal signed right away,” Quigley said.

Earlier Tuesday, the potential impact a grant freeze could have on Chicago prompted strong words from Mayor Brandon Johnson.

“Here’s what I do know: The federal government has responsibility to ensure that every single resident across this country receives ample amount of investments to ensure vibrancy as well as the ability to pursue happiness under our Constitution,” Johnson said.

As for the temporary stay issued by a federal judge, a hearing on the issue is set for Monday.

The judge noted that the rollout of Trump’s new policy has been chaotic.