Politics

Cook County Announces New Committee to Help Craft Future of Guaranteed Basic Income Program

When Nikita Smith Jr. began receiving $500 monthly payments from Cook County back in 2022, he said it allowed him for the first time to begin budgeting his money, stay on top of his bills and get much needed car repairs.

The extra income acted as a “safety net” and allowed Smith, 29, from Elk Grove, to take on a new role in his career and pay for a birthday party for his son.

“Getting those checks was like I jumpstarted into adulthood,” Smith, who is now planning to work in the health care field, fulfilling a lifelong dream, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Those payments were part of a pilot program run by Cook County to provide a guaranteed basic income to residents to help reduce poverty.

That $42 million pilot — the largest of its kind in the U.S. when it launched — concluded late last year, and on Tuesday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced plans for a new advisory committee that will review research, develop recommendations and design a new model for the future of the program.

“This is an exciting moment for Cook County,” Preckwinkle said. “We are showing it’s possible to lead with compassion and build a government that puts its trust and its resources directly in the hands of the people it serves.”

The group will include policy experts, service providers, researchers and residents who participated in the pilot program.

The funds were distributed over the past two years in the form of $500 monthly checks to 3,250 households across Cook County, half of whom earned $21,000 or less annually.

The payments were typically used to help cover the cost of groceries, rent, transportation and utilities, Preckwinkle said.

Erin Sweeney, a 43-year-old program participant from Skokie, said she lives in low-income public housing and began setting her extra payments aside for a “rainy day.” When a health crisis forced her to move into a nursing home for care, she said the costs exceeded what Medicaid and social security could cover.

“With the extra $500 a month, I could keep my apartment and get the care I needed,” she said Tuesday. “Without it I could not have afforded the care I needed in a moment of true crisis. I am alive today because of this program.”

According to a survey of participants, 75% of those who took part reported feeling more financially secure and 94% said the funds helped them handle unexpected financial emergencies. Additionally, 70% of participants said the funds had a positive effect on their mental health.

“Both the data and these testimonies reaffirm something we believed from the very beginning: People don’t need to be told how to spend their money,” Preckwinkle said. “They need trust, stability and the freedom to make decisions that are right for their families.”

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