Taxpayer-funded program giving eligible Chicago households $500 a month now fully enrolled

[September 15, 2022] 

(The Center Square) – The Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot, a monthly cash assistance program also known as universal basic income, is now fully enrolled, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Department of Family and Support Services say.

The plan provides 5,000 eligible households with $500 a month for 12 months to provide more financial stability. This month, all 5,000 households have received at least their first $500 direct cash payment.

Taxpayers are fully funding the program. Lightfoot introduced the program in February.

"The $31.5 million monthly cash assistance pilot that we believe will cover 5,000 households with $500 a month for one year," Lightfoot said. "If we do this right, it will be the country's largest, deepest program of its kind."

The requirements for households to receive the payments include having a household income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Line, or $14,000 annually.

"You must live in Chicago, you must be 18 years or older, and you must have experienced an economic hardship due to COVID-19," Lightfoot said. "Which pretty much covers every person living in the city."

Lightfoot said the program provides opportunities for those who have fallen on hard times.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Lori Lightfoot campaign video

"This resource is especially important for the families that were the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to recover fully," Lightfoot said. "Moreover, the pilot reinforces our belief that each of our residents, regardless of their income or ZIP code, deserves the opportunity to support themselves and provide for their family."

Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski said the city is paying people not to seek employment.

"It pays people to do nothing. It comes after the lockdown policies of [Gov. J.B.] Pritzker and Lightfoot," Dabrowski said. "They shut down the economy, kept people out of work, and gave them money not to work, and now they are continuing that."

Dabrowski also said the timing of the payments is close to election time and may be percieved as a political tactic.

"She is doing it during the campaign season, they are making people feel good about the money they are getting, Dabrowski said. "I think most people see this as a campaign gimmick."

The program will run for the next 12 months and is administered by GiveDirectly, a nonprofit partner with the city.

Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south suburbs of Chicago.