Illegal immigrants in Illinois will be permitted to apply for a basic income pilot program that will give residents monthly cash payments over the course of two years.
The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot will send 3,250 households $500 per month for two years with “no strings attached,” according to Business Insider. The county, which includes portions of Chicago, has over 5 million residents and is the second largest county in the United States.
In order to be eligible for the assistance, applicants must be adult residents of Cook County and make an income of or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or make less than $69,375 for a household of four or more. Applicants will not be asked about citizenship status, Fox News reported.
On the Cook County website, it clarifies that the pilot “is open to all residents of Cook County, regardless of your immigration status. This means that is you are undocumented, or your household is a mixed-status household, and you meet the eligibility criteria above, you are eligible to participate,” adding that officials will not share immigration status information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
According to a government press release, 36 percent of county residents will be eligible to apply. The press release noted that the program is being funded by American Rescue Plan funds allocated to help Americans through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toni Preckwinkle, the president of the county's board of commissioners, said that the program is the “largest publicly funded guaranteed-income pilot in American history.” Preckwinkle said she hopes to make the program permanent in two years.
Julio covered how GOP Gov. Greg Abbott (R) began sending illegal immigrants at some of Texas’ border towns to “sanctuary” cities like Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago. Reportedly, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot began sending some of the migrants on buses to outsider counties without giving the officials any notice.
As Julio pointed out, the migrants were sent to Burr Ridge, located in Cook and DuPage counties.
"I am concerned neither the village administrator nor I were told about this," Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso told WGN. “We want to know: Why Burr Ridge?"
Join the conversation as a VIP Member