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CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday launched a pilot program giving $ 500 in monthly payments to 5,000 low-income households, as part of the city’s proposed $ 16.7 billion spending plan. dollars that relies on an injection of federal relief funds to fill budget gaps for several years.
Lightfoot, a first-term Democrat, called the proposed $ 31.5 million cash assistance program a way to help “hard-hit low-income households in need of additional economic stability.” The payments would last for a year.
The idea has already been discussed in Chicago, including earlier this year by city aldermen. Similar pilot efforts, called Universal Basic Income, have been tested elsewhere, including California and New York.
During his budget speech, Lightfoot said municipal services would not be cut and there would be no layoffs.
The city is expected to receive nearly $ 1.9 billion in federal relief funds, which Lightfoot wants to use to fill budget holes in the years to come as Chicago sees pension costs rise.
The proposed spending plan and federal relief funds also include more money for police, promotion of affordable housing, efforts to clear vacant lots and planting 75,000 trees.
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