America’s second-largest county offers new program giving residents $500 a month with no strings attached

Cook County in Illinois has unanimously approved plans to give thousands of residents $500 a month in free cash.

America’s second largest county is committing $7.5 million to fully fund a permanent guaranteed basic income program for its poorest constituents.

Cook County was among several local governments which began testing the program in 2022 with the help of COVID-19 federal relief funds, according to FOX News. 

Officials received $42 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and created the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot, developed to ‘benefit low-income Cook County residents and families facing economic hardship’.

The program provided payments of $500 to 3,250 low-income households for two years until December 2024.

The pilot was considered the largest federally funded project in the United States at the time.

Following its raging success, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to fund the permanent guaranteed income program in the 2026 fiscal year.

Funding for the program will come from the county’s equity fund and eventually may be taken from a federal pandemic fund. 

Eligibility requirements and program applications have not been announced. 

The director of the Economic Security Pilot, which advocates for economic equality programs and policy, praised the county for the major step toward economic equality in a statement. 

‘At a time when the federal government is stepping back from its responsibilities to working families, Cook County is leading the way to ensure people can afford basic necessities,’ said Sarah Saheb. 

Sahab called the pilot program a ‘historic success’.

County officials believe the permanent iteration will echo the resounding benefits of the previous pilot entity, which ended last year. 

Commission President Toni Preckwinkle said in a statement: ‘We launched the Promise Pilot to test a simple but powerful idea: that direct cash support helps residents live healthier, more stable lives.

‘Now, thanks to promising early results and the dedication of our partners and participants, we are ready to take the next step.’ 

According to the Cook County American Rescue Plan, participants in the initial wave were selected in a lottery, which they had to apply for. 

A report from April 2025 showed that most pilot families used their government-issued funds on necessities, including food, rent, utilities, and transportation.

Survey findings indicated that 75 percent of the families who participated in the pilot program feel more financially secure. 

The vast majority used program funds to manage some financial emergency, and 70 percent reported a positive impact on their mental health.

The Cook County American Rescue Plan found that 83% of participants lived in the suburbs and 56% were working.

One participant told the US Sun that the program felt like she had ‘jump-started adulthood.’

‘Being part of this pilot felt like something I manifested, and I’m proud that Cook County is continuing this work,’ said Promise Pilot Participant Nikita Smith Jr. 

More than 100 guaranteed income programs have been tested in the United States since 2018 and have grown in popularity since the pandemic.

Earlier this year, Cook County experimented with a program that provided one-time payments of $1,000 to homeowners, according to the Chicago Crusader. 

While many US counties have found them to be beneficial, some studies have suggested that the cost outweighs the benefits.

In 2024, Forbes reported that participants in guaranteed income programs do not necessarily improve their job or their health thanks to the money provided to them.

The study even suggested that offering $1,000 can lead to people working less. The outlet’s reporter called such programs ‘expensive’ and ‘inefficient.’

The Daily Mail contacted Cooke County commissioners for more information.