$500 Payments Flowing to 3,250 Households in Cook County’s Guaranteed Basic Income Program: Preckwinkle

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle speaks about the county’s cash assistance program on May 18, 2022. (WTTW News)Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle speaks about the county’s cash assistance program on May 18, 2022. (WTTW News)

The nation’s largest test of whether a universal basic income can reduce poverty is underway, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.

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More than 233,000 Cook County residents applied to be part of the $42 million program, and all 3,250 households that won a lottery to participate in the two-year program got the first of 24 $500 monthly payments by the end of January, officials said.

“We trust that participants will use this assistance to build a financial foundation for themselves and their families,” said Preckwinkle, who has vowed to make the program — funded by federal funds designed to address the economic damage caused by COVID-19 pandemic — permanent.

Half of participants earned $21,000 or less annually, and 58% of households that are participating in the program include children, according to data released by Preckwinkle’s office. The federal government sets the poverty line at $26,500 for a family of four. 

More than half of participants have jobs, officials said. Nearly one-third of participants have delayed medical care because they couldn’t afford it, and 15% have a disability, according to county data.

Approximately 51% of participants told officials they were Black or African American, while 24% of applicants told officials they were Latino or Hispanic, officials said. Approximately 83% of participants live in suburban Cook County, according to data.

Chicago officials are also testing a guaranteed income program by sending $500 to 5,000 households for one year. More than 176,000 Chicagoans applied for that program, which began in July.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]


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