Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday announced a $5 million cash assistance program for 300,000 Chicago residents excluded from receiving federal stimulus checks.
That includes undocumented residents and college students living in poverty and those who have been recently incarcerated, Lightfoot said, and she doesn’t want any of them to fall through the cracks.
Those Chicagoans will get $1,000 per eligible household, mayor said.
In Chicago, we will “always be a strong, welcoming community,” Lightfoot said. “Our diversity is our strength. We will never abandon our values.”
The federal CARES Act, while providing millions in assistance, “leaves behind thousands of residents,” many of whom are essential workers, Lightfoot said at a news conference.
She also appealed to local credit unions to cash checks without imposing fees, to allow recipients to enjoy the “full benefit” of the checks.
The cash assistance program has been dubbed the “Chicago Resiliency Fund,” and The Resurrection Project and the Open Society Foundations also are part of the effort. The mayor announced the program at the Resurrection Project offices, 1818 S. Paulina St.
