(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The city of Chicago is accelerating its plans to spend $1.8 billion in federal COVID relief funds before an end-of-the-year deadline.
Budget Director Annette Guzman says the one-time funding provides a unique opportunity to address long-standing issues.
Some of the spending includes $64 million to guaranteed income in direct cash assistance to households, $23 million to violence interruption, and $20 million for mental health services. That includes reopening three clinics that had been closed under prior administrations.
Additionally, $32 million will go to helping the homeless and $11 million to pay artists hit hard by the pandemic.
Some aldermen question what the city will do about the programs when the money runs out. The Johnson Administration must still allocate 10% of the ARPA funds by Dec. 31 and spend all of it by 2026 or give it back.
With the deadline approaching, the Johnson administration is speeding up its plans to allocate and spend $1.8 billion dollars in federal COVID relief funds.
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