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The second-largest county in the United States has established a permanent guaranteed basic income program after the success of a previous pilot version.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $7.5 million for a permanent guaranteed basic income program last week. Chicago, the largest city in the Midwest and third-largest in the country, is the county seat for Cook County.
Cook County made headlines as it established the guaranteed basic income program after many local governments across the country launched pilot versions.
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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. The group has pushed pilot programs that have been adopted by municipalities across the country.
The Cook County program was launched in 2022 with the aid of federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Once the largest publicly funded program in the nation receiving $42 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot provided monthly payments of $500 to 3,250 households for two years, with no strings attached.
Economic Security Illinois Director Sarah Saheb described Cook County’s guaranteed basic income pilot as a “historic success” and said that when the federal government was “stepping back from its responsibilities to working families, Cook County is leading the way to ensure people can afford basic necessities.”
The commissioners told Fox News Digital that the decision to extend the program into permanence was based on findings from a survey on the county’s pilot program.
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The findings released by the commission in April showed that three-quarters of participants reported feeling more financially secure and 94% of participants used the funds to address financial emergencies during challenging times. Majorities also reported the program improved their mental health and lowered their stress levels.
The commission learned from the survey that participants mainly used the funds for essential needs such as food, rent, utilities, and transportation.
Illinois Policy Institute (IPI), a think tank that tracks public policy decisions in the state, told Fox News Digital that “Cook County is making its guaranteed income pilot permanent and committing millions to a failed strategy already shown to leave people with less work experience and lower earnings.”
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“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),” said Josh Bandoch, head of policy for the IPI.
In response to IPI, the commission told Fox News Digital 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.”
“Cook County is partnering closely with the Inclusive Economy Lab at the University of Chicago to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Promise Pilot. We will then design our next program in a thoughtful way that considers short- and long-term outcomes,” the commission said.
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