How universal basic income could work in Chicago

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to spend $31.5 million in federal COVID relief dollars on a new cash assistance program for up to 5,000 families.

By Nereida Moreno

Oct 11, 2021, 4:22pm CT

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pictured earlier this year. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to spend $31.5 million in federal COVID relief dollars on a new cash assistance program for up to 5,000 families.

By Nereida Moreno

Oct 11, 2021, 4:22pm CT

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2022 budget proposal includes a $500 per month cash assistance program for as many as 5,000 families in Chicago.

Reset talks to a former alderman who proposed a similar universal basic income program in 2018, and learns about a similar effort in Gary, Indiana.

GUESTS: Ameya Pawar, senior advisor at UChicago’s Inclusive Economy Lab, former 47th Ward alderman

Burgess Peoples, executive director of the Guaranteed Income Validation Effort in Gary, Indiana