(WTTW News)
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Medical debt affects 27% of Cook County residents. Of those, 42% are people of color.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle speaks to participants of the Cook County Promise guaranteed income pilot on Nov. 16, 2022. (WTTW News)

At an enrollment event this week, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle welcomed some of the more than 3,000 participants in the Cook County Promise guaranteed income pilot. The participants, who were selected by lottery, are set to receive their first monthly payment of $500 on Dec. 15.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Nov.9, 2022. (WTTW News)

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle secured a fourth term in office, defeating Republican challenger Bob Fioretti.

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle announces the launch of the Building Healthy Communities initiative Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (WTTW News)

With voting coming to a close in Cook County, Board President Toni Preckwinkle is vying for a fourth term in office and fellow Democrats are looking to maintain the party’s control on all countywide seats.

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

Approximately 62% of applicants have jobs, and nearly half have sought medical attention at a hospital’s emergency room in the past year, officials said. An initial lottery will identify 10,000 applicants to verify the information contained in their applications.

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

The program, which is expected to include 3,250 households, will launch a test of a basic-income program with $41.5 million from the federal COVID-19 relief package signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2021, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said.

(WTTW News)

Both Chicago and Cook County are in the process of launching guaranteed income programs that will provide more than 8,000 residents with $500 a month, no strings attached. While applications for Cook County residents will open in the fall, Chicago residents have started receiving monthly payments.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle at the White House on July 11, 2022. (Credit: Nick Shields / Cook County)

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle spoke to WTTW News following Biden’s White House celebration of the passage of a federal gun safety law that was attended by elected officials, gun control advocates, gun violence survivors and the families of victims.

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle announces the launch of the Building Healthy Communities initiative Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (WTTW News)

Cook County budget officials will only have to close an $18.2 million budget shortfall in 2023, the smallest gap in a decade, avoiding tax hikes and layoffs. Thebudget has been boosted by sales taxes, corporate income taxes and revenue generated by the construction boom. 

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, left, debates lawyer Richard Boykin on "Chicago Tonight" on Wednesday, June 15. (WTTW News)

Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle and Oak Park lawyer Richard Boykin clashed over whether Preckwinkle’s efforts to reform the county’s criminal justice system is fueling the surge of crime during a debate held Wednesday evening on “Chicago Tonight.”

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

Those who are selected for the program, which will prioritize residents of suburban Cook County, will get monthly payments of $500 to 3,250 residents for two years. The first checks are expected to be cut by the end of the year, officials said.

A residential street in Wicker Park in Chicago. (WTTW News)

The number of evictions carried out in Cook County dropped from more than 3,300 in the five months before the pandemic to fewer than 1,200 in the five months after the eviction ban was lifted, according to data obtained by WTTW News.

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle announces the launch of the Building Healthy Communities initiative Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (WTTW News)

Community-based organizations, health centers, local municipalities and schools in suburban Cook County can apply for funding starting Tuesday. “Working with grassroots organizations is critical in reaching our most vulnerable populations,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Candidates line up at the Illinois State Board of Election to file petitions on March 7, 2022. (WTTW News)

Anyone in line to file their petitions by the time election authorities opened their doors has a chance to be listed first on the ballot for their race, a position that could make a difference by attracting voters’ eyeballs in a close contest.

Toni Preckwinkle joins “Chicago Tonight” via Zoom, March 2 2022. (WTTW News)

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle details how an influx of federal funds will be allocated.

(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

In honor of Monday’s Martin Luther King Day of Service, Cook County Forest Preserves is hosting volunteer activities at a number of sites across the forest preserve district, from habitat restoration to litter cleanups.