(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Help is on the way for residents in Suburban Cook County who find themselves in a cash crunch due to COVID-19.
Cook County is using $2 million from the county's share of the federal CARES Act funding to hand out $600 one-time cash payments to residents who are suffering economic hardship as a result of the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller said her office and local nonprofits tried a small-scale cash assistance program in the south suburbs earlier this year. Miller said studies show that cash assistance can do the most amount of good in the least amount of time.
"People receiving cash are quicker to recover their assets than those who don't. Additionally they have significant long term impact on people's livelihoods and communities after the immediate crisis ends," Miller said.
People can apply online and applications will accepted through Nov. 6