Chicago families need a Guaranteed Income.

Poverty and inequality are solvable problem. But for too long, governments have tinkered around the edges, making changes to programs that help, but are complicated; requiring various ways to “prove need or effectiveness.”

A guaranteed income is a different kind of policy solution. It trusts that families know best what they need to survive and thrive. A guaranteed income provides a targeted group of individuals support in the form of a monthly cash infusion, with no strings attached or limits on how to spend the money.

Recipients of guaranteed income would simply be given the cash they need to pay their bills, fix a car, clothe a growing child, or put food on the table.

In a response to the pandemic, a historic amount of funding has been offered from the federal government, we have an unprecedented opportunity to positively impact people's lives. From Stockton, California, to Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Jackson, Mississippi, and dozens of cities in between, local governments have been investing directly in their constituents. Here in Chicago, we've already seen how from privately funded cash transfer programs have been a lifeline to those in crisis, both in- and before the pandemic. Chicagoans cannot afford to wait for relief any longer; it's time to act.

The potential impact of this policy would be huge: we could provide immediate relief from pandemic-caused economic crisis, including widespread job and pay loss; we could attend to the inequalities that persist due to segregation and systemic racism; and we could supplement the existing social safety net by offering more financial security for families to prepare for their future.

I am a resident of Chicago who wants you to support a guaranteed income program to provide Chicago families with the cash relief they need today.