Advocates push for permanent guaranteed income push for 100K eligible Illinoisans

Guaranteed income advocates in Illinois are pushing to have the state adopt a permanent guaranteed income program, modeled after Cook County’s policy.“Our long-term vision, our North Star, is to win a statewide permanent guaranteed income program for 100,000 eligible Illinoisans,” said Byron Hobbs, director of organizing for the economic freedom team at Community Change, according to the Chicago Tribune.“This economy has not worked for poor and low-income folks in the city of Chicago, across Illinois and across this country,” Hobbs continued. Hobbs spoke to residents at an event hosted by the Union for a Guaranteed Income (U4GI) on March 7.The purpose of the meeting was to gather feedback about finalizing the rules and regulations around Cook County’s guaranteed income program.

The first round of payments will begin by late summer or early fall of this year.U4GI, an organization that advocates for “direct cash payments,” played a pivotal role in securing $7.5 million to launch a permanent guaranteed income program in Cook County starting in 2026. Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago, established a permanent guaranteed basic income program after a pilot version of the program was launched in 2022 using $42 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.Payments began rolling out in December 2022, providing 3,250 low-to-moderate-income families $500 a month with no strings attached for two years.Cook County commissioners previously told Fox News Digital they decided to make the program permanent based on findings from a survey.Community Change, U4GI’s partner organization, posted details on Instagram about the March 7 event a few days before it occurred.

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