Chicago’s $31.5 million ‘guaranteed income’ pilot set to start as state cues up Metro East program

[April 14, 2022]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Communities on opposite sides of Illinois are gearing up to start pilot programs giving certain residents guaranteed income at taxpayer expense.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office announced Wednesday the “Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot” program will launch April 25. Prospective participants will take part in a lottery to get up to $500 a month in cash assistance. The mayor’s office says the cost will be $31.5 million given to 5,000 low-income residents.

Participants must have household income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, Lightfoot’s office said. That would be around $57,000 annual income for a household of three.

The program in Chicago will be administered by the nonprofit GiveDirectly with technology platform AidKit. Outreach in Chicago will be led by the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago.

Funding for Chicago’s program comes from the $1.2 billion in federal tax funds the city received for COVID-19 aid.

Another guaranteed income program in a different part of the state also is in the works. Before leaving Springfield Saturday, Illinois state lawmakers approved as part of the $45.6 billion state budget that begins July 1 a $3.6 million pilot program for the Metro East.

“The sum of $3,570,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services for a grant to the Guaranteed Income Pilot for costs associated with operational expenses,” the state’s appropriation measure approved Saturday says.

The program was revealed in a budget draft being debated in a House committee last week.

“It is a test program in Metro East,” House Majority Leader Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said. “You’ve seen these around the country, it is a small program in a specific locale to test the outcomes of delivering guaranteed income to a small subset of people as opposed to the patchwork of them trying to get other sources of income through [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] or [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] or the earned income tax credit.”

Harris didn’t provide more information, other than the details of the program will be developed by the Illinois Department of Human Services.

“There are different cities in the state that are trying this in different areas and there’s different definitions so I don’t believe that is developed,” Harris said.

The budget package with the state’s pilot program has yet to be sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.