Chicago City Wire

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot highlighted a program that will give a $500 monthly stipend to households starting Monday.

“The Chicago Resilient Communities pilot is a way for us to efficiently support the communities and households that were hardest-hit by the pandemic,” Lightfoot wrote on Twitter.

Cook County recently received more than $1 billion in federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), WTTW reported. $320 million of the funds will be used this year, with $60 million going toward violence prevention programs and $100 million going toward economic development projects. Another $60 million will go toward health and wellness programs. $42 million will be used for a pilot guaranteed-income program for families in need. 

“People who are poor need money," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in defense of the program.

Cook County officials are attempting to figure out a way to make the guaranteed-income program permanent, even after the federal funds have run out.

The county is also adding funding for mental health programs.

“Cook County, not to our credit, has not over time really put significant investments in behavioral health and it’s long past the moment when we should be doing that,” Preckwinkle said to WTTW.

Beginning on April 25, Chicagoans can apply to participate in the guaranteed income program, Block Club Chicago reported. Five thousand households will be selected via lottery to receive $500 stipends monthly for one year. An eligible resident must be over the age of 18, live in the city of Chicago, have experienced economic hardship due to the pandemic, and earn less than 250% of the federal poverty level.

“There are a variety of initiatives that we have been supporting since 2013 and are now working in conjunction with the state and the city to ensure that we make the best possible investments,” Preckwinkle said to WTTW.

The Jain Family Institute (JFI) noted that arguments against a guaranteed income include its cost, recipients might become disincentivized from working, and employment has mental and physical  benefits.