Chicago will soon be selecting 5,000 residents to be the recipients of a $ 500-per-month guaranteed income. The pilot program is being funded through the Chicago Resilience Community Pilot and will offer the funds for 12 months in an effort to help low-income households hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Applications to access the $31.5 million program opened on April 25 and closed earlier this month on May 13, according to NBC News Chicago. The Windy City is the latest city piloting a guaranteed income program following the proven success of several others across the country.
Recipients will be selected on a lottery basis, according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office, who said the selection process is "designed to prioritize households living in poverty and those living in communities with preexisting economic hardship."
To qualify, applicants must be 18 years old or older and have a household income of less than 250% of the Federal Poverty Line. The program saw more than 176,000 applications from all 77 community neighborhoods, Lightfoot's office said in a press release. Each ward had at least 300 applications.
Of all the applications, 62% of the applicants identified as a parent or caregiver, 70% identified as female, and at least 9% stated they were housing insecure or homeless.
Now that the application is closed, Lightfoot's office said qualifying applications will move forward into a lottery where 5,000 households "will be invited to enroll in the monthly cash assistance program."
"Pending final verification, benefits counseling and successful enrollment, most households will receive their first payments at the end of June," the press release stated.
All applicants will receive notification of their status following Memorial Day.
Click HERE to learn more about the program.
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.