Cook County seeks to implement permanent guaranteed income

Cook County officials promised to make the nation’s now-largest publicly-funded guaranteed income experiment permanent May 18 shortly after introducing the initiative. The trial will start accepting applicants in the fall.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced that Cook County residents will pilot the nation’s largest taxpayer-funded guaranteed income experiment May 18, raffling residents $500 a month for two years before promising to make the payments permanent.

The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot will send $42 million to 3,250 randomly selected Cook County residents to study the effect of the cash disbursements with the University of Chicago. The program will be funded for the trial period using temporary American Rescue Plan dollars received during the pandemic.

Regardless of the experiment’s outcome, Preckwinkle said she promises to make the trial permanent. She told residents this policy is Cook County’s opportunity to become the national leader on state sponsored income.

“Cook County is reframing the way we think about government assistance and is proud to be leading the way in the American guaranteed income movement,” Preckwinkle said.

“Make no mistake: We are interested in long-term solutions to the glaring issue of income inequality. Our promise to Cook County residents is to make the program permanent in the years to come.”

County officials have offered few specifics about the program’s rollout since the May 18 announcement, only claiming that applications will open in the fall, recipients will be chosen at random, and the first payments are set to arrive before the new year.

In fact, the county is still seeking proposals from agencies and organizations to help administer the program, provide outreach, and guide in-person applicants. The county will accept those proposals through June 6.

To be eligible for the pilot, an individual must live in Cook County with a household income below 250% of the federal poverty level.

For a household of three, that means their income has to be $57,575 or less, and for a single person, $33,975 or less.

The county program is accepting applicants from Chicago as long as they are not already participating in any other guaranteed income program through the city. Most participants — which will be selected in a lottery — are expected to be from suburban Cook County.

Chicago’s first guaranteed income pilot was passed in October 2021 and similarly used temporary funds from the American Rescue Plan. Residents enrolled in the program are expected to see their first checks in the mail this summer.