APPLICATIONS close in hours for the nation’s largest universal basic income (UBI) program.
Folks who meet the deadline will be entered into a lottery for $500 direct payments.
Applications for the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot close May 13.
The $31million program will benefit families facing economic hardship.
Roughly 5,000 low-income households with get $500 per month for a year.
Sarah Moran, US County Director at GiveDirectly, which will oversee the plan, said: “Our goal in Chicago is to assure a best-in-class program design that is easy for enrollees to access, empowering them to use these funds on what they need the most.”


When will applications close?
Residents have only one day left to apply.
Applications will close at 11.59pm CT on Friday, May 13.
Applications opened on April 25.
To learn more about applying, families may visit chicago.gov/cashpilot.
Who will qualify?
To apply, residents must:
- live in the city of Chicago
- be 18 years or older
- have experienced economic hardship related to Covid
- have a household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level
For a family of three, the federal poverty level is $57,575.
Applicants who are eligible will be entered into a lottery.
Only one applicant per household.
Officials also say the lottery is designed to prioritize folks living in communities with preexisting economic hardship.
What other UBI programs are open?
Other UBI programs have been tested in cities throughout the US.
At least ten cities have created their own UBI programs.
These cities include: Pittsburgh, Columbia, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Newark, Rochester and Durham.


Plus, one universal basic income program is testing payments to teens.
We explain all the cities throughout the US helping people through guaranteed income programs.
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