Chicago is known for its deep-dish pizza and its windy weather, but those aren’t what define the city. What truly sets Chicago apart is its people. This city is powered by individuals who care deeply about their community, so much so that they’ll step away from work, miss important events, and show up to fight for what matters.
On April 15th, also known as the infamous Tax Day, Community Change Action’s Union 4 Guaranteed Income members and Workers Center for Racial Justice, headed to the Illinois capital to talk to our state leaders about using tax revenue to make guaranteed income permanent across Illinois.
Chicago stands at the center of the guaranteed income movement, driven by the passion and commitment of its people. Guaranteed income is direct, no-strings-attached cash to people who need it most. It’s an addition to the safety net when times get tough, or the start of savings to get you ahead. A little payback for all the work and time we’ve paid into the system.
Flashing back to November 2025, Cook County made history by approving $7.5 million in the fiscal year 2026 budget for a county-level permanent guaranteed income program, becoming the first county in the nation to do so, after grassroots organizing by neighbors, parents, and community members.
Now, with a historic win in their pockets, we took the fight to the halls of the Illinois capital. With echoes of “Tax the Rich” and “Invest in Us!” Union 4 Guaranteed Income members joined several other organizations demanding that state leaders pass progressive revenue measures. Because every dollar lost to tax avoidance from billionaires and corporations is a dollar taken from Illinois families.
Their message was clear: It’s time the ultra-wealthy and big corporations, who’ve benefited the most from Illinois’s economy, invest in the people who keep it running. They need to pay what they owe.
Joined by hundreds of people, shoulder-to-shoulder, members eagerly awaited their state legislators to share their stories, speak from lived experience, and discuss guaranteed income as a solution to level the playing field and abolish poverty in Illinois.
Because yes, guaranteed income can help you afford rent and put food on the table, but it does more than that. It gives you room to breathe. It lets you live in a world where survival isn’t the only goal. A world where you can spend time with your family, buy your kids the toys they’re too scared to ask for because they know money is tight, and even start building savings. It’s about putting power back into people’s hands.
And this isn’t a new idea. Leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Johnnie Tillmon, Ruby Duncan, and Fannie Lou Hamer called for it decades ago — and most importantly, it’s proven to work.
When the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot launched in 2022, it was one of the largest publicly funded programs of its kind in the nation. Leveraging $42 million in federal funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the two-year pilot provided monthly, no-strings-attached payments of $500 to 3,250 households.
There were no work requirements, and most people used the payments to cover basic needs such as food, rent, utilities, and transportation. 94% used the funds to manage an unexpected or emergency expense. 75% of participants reported feeling more financially secure, and more than half reported reduced stress.
The results speak for themselves, and so does the passion of the organizers, who are carrying this work forward to make guaranteed income permanent and ensure our communities can truly thrive.
Let’s end poverty in Illinois and across the country — let’s continue to fight for and build an economy that works for all of us.