Cook County, Illinois, is making its guaranteed basic income program permanent after launching it as a pilot program in 2022 with the help of federal COVID-19 relief funds.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $7.5 million to make the program permanent last week, Fox News reported. Cook County is the second-largest county in the U.S. and includes the city of Chicago.
“Guaranteed basic income programs have become a trend across the U.S. in recent years with more than 100 pilots launched since 2018. Mayors for Guaranteed Income grew into a coalition of 150 mayors pushing pilot programs, offering low-income participants up to $1,000 a month with no strings attached,” according to the report. “The group has pushed pilot programs that have been adopted by municipalities across the country.”
The Cook County program, at one point, was the largest publicly funded program in the U.S., receiving $42 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot gave monthly payments of $500 to 3,250 households for two years “with no strings attached,” according to the report.
The commissioners told the outlet they decided to make the program permanent because of findings from a survey of the county’s program showing three-quarters of participants reported feeling more financially secure. The survey additionally found that 94 percent of participants used the money for financial emergencies, and the majority said the program improved their mental health and lowered stress.
Survey participants reported using the funds mainly for essential needs like food, rent, utilities, and transportation, per the report.
Illinois Policy Institute (IPI), a think tank that tracks public policy in the state, told the outlet that commissioners are “committing millions to a failed strategy already shown to leave people with less work experience and lower earnings.”
“That should alarm anyone who wants real, long-term progress for low-income residents. A recent pilot program in northern Illinois, including Cook County, decreased workforce participation and lower individual income (before transfers),” IPI Head of Policy Josh Bandoch said.
The commission responded to IPI’s criticism, telling the outlet that “outcomes and impacts vary depending heavily on program design: amount of cash, frequency/duration of payments, eligibility criteria (income-based, place-based, etc.), and local cost of living.”
The commission said the county is working to design its program in a “thoughtful way that considers short-and long-term outcomes.”
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