(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The first payments in Cook County’s “guaranteed income” pilot program are going out this week.
Under the $42 million dollars initiative, more than 3,200 residents will each get $500 a month for the next two years.
It's the largest publicly funded guaranteed income program ever, officials say.
“This money will go towards necessities like rent, groceries, and transportation,” Bureau of Economic Development Chief Xochitl Flores explained in a news release. “But it will also be invested in emergency savings funds, education costs, and starting new businesses.
“That’s the great thing about guaranteed income - it is a benefit that is flexible enough to help every participant meet their basic needs as well as their aspirations, no matter their particular situation.”
County government received 233,000 applications in October. The enrollment period is still ongoing.
Program leaders are still informing people on the wait list that they made the cut.
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