Remember the American Rescue Plan? Cook County Illinois will use federal funds that it received to pay $500 per month to 3,250 residents for two years



Residents of Cook County Illinois can now apply for the opportunity to receive $500 monthly payments for a two-year period.

In order to be eligible for the guaranteed income program, an individual must be an adult who resides in the county and who has "a household income at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level," which amounts to $33,975 for a household with just one person, or $69,375 for a household with four people. Also, there cannot be anyone in the household who is benefitting from another guaranteed income program.

"Participants are free to spend the money however they see fit to meet their needs, within the bounds of the law," according a webpage about the program. "Yes, the pilot is open to all Cook County households regardless of immigration status. You will not be asked to verify your citizenship or immigration status in the application."

It is expected that the money will start being paid out during winter 2022.

"Our Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot is just the start and in the coming years, we plan to make this program permanent," the webpage states.

The program is being funded with money that the county received from the federal government via the American Rescue Plan Act.

"Historically, both public and private institutions have been unwilling to directly invest in low-income people without significant restrictions attached. This red tape is in place not because any evidence shows that it is necessary, but rather because our society does not trust that people living in poverty have the character or ability to make good decisions for themselves," Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle said, according to a press release from May. "Cook County is reframing the way we think about government assistance and is proud to be leading the way in the American guaranteed income movement."

California city approves program to provide transgender, nonbinary residents with guaranteed income



A California city plans to a launch a program that will guarantee monthly income to transgender and nonbinary residents.

What are the details?

Palm Springs, a desert city in southern California, will allocate $200,000 to start a program giving transgender and nonbinary residents between $600 and $900 of monthly income, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Palm Springs City Council unanimously approved a plan to develop the program last Thursday.

The program will give 20 residents the monthly income and, as is typical with guaranteed income programs, the money will be distributed with no strings attached, meaning individuals can spend the money however they see fit. The program is expected to last 18 months.

Palm Springs councilwoman Christy Holstege (D) said after the program was approved that she was "incredibly proud" that her city is coming down on "the right side of history and supporting our trans and nonbinary, gender-nonconforming community," according to the Los Angeles Times.

The city will give the $200,000 to DAP Health, an advocacy health center based in Palm Springs, and Queer Works, an LGBT advocacy organization based in the Coachella Valley, to manage the program and apply for state funds set aside for guaranteed income programs. California has budgeted $35 million for basic income pilot programs.

David Brinkman, CEO and president of DAP Health, claimed transgender people are "one of the most marginalized populations in our city who face some of the highest levels of housing insecurity, joblessness and discrimination."

Jacob Rostowsky, CEO of Queer Works, said the problem is critical because "people who are Trans and Non-Binary are highly marginalized in our society in general, especially economically."

For the program to be fully funded, Rostowsky said the city of Palm Springs would need to match any funds provided by the state.

"Our project's budget is estimated at about $1.8 million," he said, the Desert Sun reported. "And so when we look at what other [programs] that have been successfully funded have done, their local cities have provided nearly a match to that funding."

Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton became the first transgender mayor in California last year.

Palm Springs to develop guaranteed income program for transgender residents www.youtube.com

Oakland to offer guaranteed income, but only for minority families



Officials in Oakland, California, announced the launch of a guaranteed income pilot program this week that will provide direct monthly payments to low-income minority families in the city.

The initiative, which is one of the largest guaranteed income experiments to be conducted in the United States to date, aims to find out if providing regular payments low-income families will lift them from their economic plight.

What are the details?

The program, called Oakland Resilient Families, will send 600 families in the city $500-a-month payments over the next 18 months as part of an effort to eliminate racial wealth inequalities in the city, which the program argues is the result of "ongoing systemic racism."

Though similar in many ways to universal basic income, Oakland's guaranteed income program is not designed for everyone, but specifically for low-income black, indigenous, and people of color, or BIPOC, families — groups the city says suffer from the greatest level of wealth disparity. Recipients of the payments will be able to spend the money in any way they choose.

Families must apply online in the coming weeks and months in order to enter a pool of potential recipients, from which eligible families will be randomly selected to receive the cash payments.

Eligible families are those at or below 50% of the median income level for the area, which is about $59,000 per year for a family of three. However, half of the spots in the program will be reserved for very-low-income families, which are those earning below 138% of the federal poverty level, or roughly $30,000 annually for a family of three.

According to the Oakland Resilient Families "About" page, the program will also be "open to undocumented residents and unsheltered families."

What else?

While announcing the program during a news conference Tuesday, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said, "We believe that guaranteed income is the most transformative policy that can achieve this vision and whose time has come."

According to KPIX-TV, Schaaf noted that once the program kicks off in the spring and summer, "evaluators" will be tasked with monitoring how the money is spent and how much of an impact the payments made on the recipients' lives.

Officials reportedly emphasized that none of the money to be distributed through the program will come from taxpayers; rather, the funds will be raised through philanthropic donations. A reported $6.75 million has been raised for the program so far.