Chicago county to make universal basic income policy of $500 per month permanent after 'historic success'

Cook County in Illinois, which encompasses the Chicago area, has established a permanent universal basic income (UBI) program after the county claimed to have success with doing so. The county is among others around the country that have tried a pilot program of UBI. However, the county has yet to determine what eligibility for the program will look like.

The Illinois county got $42 million in federal Covid-19 relief funding from the American Rescue Plan and that was then used for the UBI program dubbed the "Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot" program, which gave $500 to 3,250 households for two years starting in 2022 with no strings attached to the funds. The Cook County Board of Commissioners has now voted to extend the program into the 2026 fiscal year, according to Fox 32.

The county has dedicated $7.5 million to the program going into 2026 and will come from the county's "equity fund." Sarah Saheb, the director of the Economic Security Project, said in a statement about the program, "With working families struggling to afford their daily lives, Cook County is taking bold action to put money directly back in their pockets. "Cook County’s guaranteed income pilot was a historic success, helping families afford the groceries, childcare, and transportation they need to thrive. We are thrilled to see President Preckwinkle make this program permanent and look forward to partnering on the work ahead to make sure even more families can benefit."

The county cited a survey that was sent out to those who were enrolled in the program and consented to the survey for its success, saying that 75 percent of those who responded felt more financially secure, 94 percent had a financial emergency or unexpected expense that they used the money for, 73 percent said the payments will benefit them if the program were to end, 56 percent said they had reduced stress, and 70 percent said it had a positive impact on their mental health.

According to a summary of the survey data, of the 3,250 people who were given $500 in cash monthly, only 2,757 consented to taking the survey. Over 70 percent of those who received the cash and also took the survey were women, possibly skewing data based on sex differences. Around half of those who took the survey were employed part-time or full-time. The households that responded to the survey had, on average, 1.2 children per household.

The pilot program was for adult residents in Cook County with a household income "at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), but the County determined that the Promise Pilot should prioritize households with low incomes and those in historically disadvantaged communities,” per the survey summary.