Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced on Tuesday that the state is joining the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.

“I refuse to sit by as Donald Trump undermines science and weakens our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats,” Pritzker said.

“By withdrawing from the World Health Organization, Donald Trump has undermined science and weakened our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats. I refuse to sit idly by and let that happen,” Pritzker said in a release.

“By joining the World Health Organization’s coordinated network, GOARN, we are ensuring that our public health leaders – and the public – have the information, expertise, and partnerships they need to protect the people of our state. Across our state and alongside valued partners around the world, Illinois will continue to put science, preparedness, and people first,” he continued.

The announcement follows the Trump administration withdrawing the United States from the global organization.

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“The United States has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization. We are reclaiming our independence, protecting American sovereignty, and putting U.S. public health policy back in the hands of the American people,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last month.

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The Hill explained further:

Pritzker is among a group of Democratic governors who launched the Governors’ Public Health Alliance last October in an apparent rebuke of the Trump administration’s public health policies.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office last January, initiating an exit from the WHO over an alleged “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and “other global health crises.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the U.S. in a press conference last month to reconsider its position, calling the move a “lose-lose” situation.

“It’s not really the right decision, I want to say bluntly, because I believe that there are many things that are done through WHO that benefits the U.S., and only the WHO does, and especially the health security issues,” Ghebreyesus said. “That’s why I say the U.S. cannot be safe without working with the WHO.”

California was the first state to join the WHO’s global disease monitoring network, a decision Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said was motivated by the Trump administration’s “reckless decision.”

“California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring,” Newsom said in a statement.

“We’re dedicated to following the international standard for health and wellness, and this is another step in that work,” said Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton.

“Just as Illinois continues to follow a scientifically supported vaccine schedule, we will continue to rely on evidence, data, and medical expertise to guide our decisions. We will always choose the health of our people over political grandstanding or misinformation, and we will remain focused on what keeps families and communities safe,” Stratton added.

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More from the Illinois Department of Public Health:

In October 2025, Governor Pritzker joined the Governors Public Health Alliance, a coalition of 15 governors committed to countering the Trump Administration’s dismantling of America’s public health infrastructure, war on science, and efforts to strip healthcare from millions of Americans. Following Donald Trump’s withdrawal from WHO, the Alliance announced a new coordinated effort with Boston University’s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases to use information from BEACON – the Biothreats Emergence, Analysis, and Communications Network for disease tracking and to inform coordinated responses.

Additionally, Illinois will continue to convene its Global Health Advisory Committee, which brings together leading experts from world-class Illinois institutions to ensure the state benefits from the best available scientific insight and international health intelligence.

Governor Pritzker also signed key legislation that empowers IDPH to offer vaccine guidance through the Immunization Advisory Committee (IAC), reinforcing science-based public health policy and countering misinformation that threatens community health.

These efforts reflect Illinois’ relentless commitment to putting people and science first, and to providing residents with timely, evidence-based information to help them to protect their health and the health of their loved ones.

 

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