Cook County in Illinois establishes permanent guaranteed income program

The second-largest county in the United States has created a permanent, guaranteed basic income program following the success of a previous pilot version.

Cook County Board of Commissioners Last week, it unanimously approved $7.5 million for a permanent guaranteed basic income program. Chicago, the largest city in the Midwest and the third largest city in the country, is the county seat of Cook County.

Cook County made headlines by creating its 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 United States in recent years. 100 pilots launched since 2018. Guaranteed Income Mayors has morphed 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 pushed the pilot programs adopted by municipalities across the country.

Cook County program launches in 2022 with the help of federal COVID-19 relief funds.

The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot, once the largest publicly funded program in the nation that received $42 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, provided monthly payments to 500 to 3,250 households with no strings attached for two years.

Illinois Director for Economic Security Sarah Saheb called Cook County’s guaranteed basic income pilot a “historic success” and said the federal government “is stepping back from its responsibilities to working families while Cook County is paving the way to ensure people can afford basic needs.”

Commissioners told Fox News Digital that the decision to make the program permanent was based on the findings from a survey in the district’s pilot program.

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Guaranteed basic income programs have become a trend across the US in recent years, with more than 100 GBI pilots launched since 2018. (iStock)

Findings released by the Commission in April showed that three-quarters of respondents reported feeling more financially secure, and 94% of respondents used funds to resolve financial emergencies during challenging times. The majority also reported that the program improved their mental health and lowered their stress levels.

The commission learned from the survey that participants mostly used the funds for basic needs such as food, rent, utilities and transportation.

“Cook County is making the guaranteed income pilot permanent and pouring millions into a failed strategy that has already been proven to leave people with less work experience and lower earnings,” the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI), a think tank that tracks public policy decisions in the state, told Fox News Digital.

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“This should alarm anyone who wants real, long-term progress for low-income residents. A recent pilot program in northern Illinois, including Cook County, reduced workforce participation and lowered individual income (before transfers),” said Josh Bandoch, IPI chief policy officer.

Democrats in the Illinois legislature are trying to create an “Illinois Guaranteed Income Fund” through the Department of Human Services. (iStock)

In response to the IPI, the commission told Fox News Digital that “outcomes and impacts vary greatly depending on program design: amount of cash, frequency/duration of payments, eligibility criteria (income-based, location-based, etc.), and local cost of living.”

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“Cook County is working closely with the Inclusive Economics Lab at the University of Chicago to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Promise Pilot. We will then thoughtfully design our next program with short- and long-term implications in mind,” the commission said.