Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced Tuesday that the state has joined the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN).

“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 stated in a release. “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 emphasized that joining GOARN ensures Illinois public health leaders—and residents—have access to critical information, expertise, and international partnerships to protect state citizens. “Across our state and alongside valued partners around the world, Illinois will continue to put science, preparedness, and people first,” he added.

The move follows President Trump’s administration formal withdrawal from the World Health Organization earlier this year. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously announced the U.S. exit, stating it was part of “reclaiming our independence, protecting American sovereignty, and putting U.S. public health policy back in the hands of the American people.”

Pritzker’s action aligns with a growing coalition of Democratic governors who formed the Governors’ Public Health Alliance last October to counter Trump administration policies. California had previously joined GOARN, with Governor Gavin Newsom calling it a response to “reckless decision[s]” by the former administration.

Illinois also joined the Governors’ Public Health Alliance in October 2025, launching a coordinated effort with Boston University’s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases to enhance disease tracking and response using BEACON data. The state further reinforced science-based public health policy through legislation empowering its Department of Public Health to issue vaccine guidance via the Immunization Advisory Committee.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the U.S. last month to reconsider its position, calling the withdrawal a “lose-lose” scenario that jeopardizes American health security. “Only the WHO does [critical work] for the U.S., especially on health security,” he stated bluntly.