Cook County Guarantees $500 a Month With New Income Program

New Income Program In Chicago

According to numerous sources, the average salary for a resident living in Cook County Chicago is between 18,000-48,000. This is arguably not enough to live a comfortable life, especially considering the fact that lots of families are relatively large. Not only that but the education statistics are not very high in Cook County either. This has not gone totally unnoticed.

A new economic aid program in Cook County has opened enrollment and will provide financial assistance to thousands of locals. Over 3,200 citizens will receive $500 per month for the next two years as part of the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot Program.

Board President Thoughts

Board President Toni Preckwinkle released a statement: “After months of hard work, Cook County is proud to be launching the application portal for the largest publicly-funded guaranteed income pilot in American history.” Her office estimates that over a third of county residents are eligible to apply. In the upcoming years, Preckwinkle said she aims to keep the program ongoing.

She also made a statement about the reluctance of funding and investment to low-income individuals.

“Both public and private entities have been reluctant to make direct investments in low-income individuals without considerable conditions. This red tape is in place because our society does not believe that individuals who are poor have the ability to make good decisions for themselves. Not because any evidence suggests that it is essential, “In a statement made at the time the initiative was found out, President Preckwinkle Cook County is pleased to be a pioneer in the American guaranteed income movement and is rethinking how we view government aid.

Nationwide support for a universal basic income has increased over time. Businessman Andrew Yang promoted his candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He did this by advocating that every American should receive $1,000 per month. Tech millionaires have spoken about UBI acting as a safeguard against rising automation. Before the pandemic struck and showed how much a person’s fundamental necessities depend on job stability and climate safety. The idea was far-fetched by many officials.

Program Requirments

There are only a few requirements to qualify for this program.

Officials stated that participants in this program had to be adults who resided in Cook County, meet income eligibility requirements, and not in any other guaranteed programs income programs

throughout the 24-month term of the Cook County experiment. Participants must make less than $69,375 per year for a household of four, or at least 250% of the federal poverty threshold.

Although applicants and participants are from both the city and suburbs, the majority of the participants make up inhabitants of the suburbs. 36% of Cook County inhabitants are going to be eligible to apply.

Each household is only allowed to send one representative to the program to moderate the use of this source of income. Another factor is that citizenship or immigration status won’t need to be verified throughout the application process.

The Cook County program launches as Chicago’s cash aid program for thousands of families is starting to hand out $500 cheques. In an effort to aid locals in recovering economically from the pandemic, the city’s Department of Family and Support Services has committed to the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot.

Applications are being accepted by the county through October 21.

Written by Esteban Ruiz

Sources:

HuffPost: Chicago Just Launched The Country’s Largest Guaranteed Income Program

ABC-7: Cook County guaranteed income pilot program applications open Thursday

Fox 32: Cook County residents can now apply for $500 a month through a guaranteed income program

Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Daniel X. O’Neil‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Tim Dorr‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License