Pritzker: 'No' to state taxpayer-funded guaranteed income
[December 05, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he is not planning to
follow Cook County by implementing a guaranteed income program, and one
Statehouse Democrat wants to prevent government units from funding such
programs with taxpayer dollars.
Cook County’s $10.12 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 includes $7.5
million for guaranteed income recipients. The county’s Board of
Commissioners unanimously approved the spending plan Nov. 20.
Pritzker was asked in Chicago Wednesday if he was considering the use of
state taxpayer dollars for guaranteed income.
“No,” the governor responded.
When asked for his thoughts about Cook County’s program, he said it was
not inappropriate for counties and municipalities to try things.
“It’s not a policy that we’re looking at doing for the state of Illinois
but, on the other hand, sometimes things that you don’t imagine would
work do,” Pritzker said.
The governor said it was important to make sure people have the basics
they need in life.
“I am concerned, I think that we should be providing jobs for people so
they can earn a good living, and the dignity of work really matters,”
Pritzker said.
Last April, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the
county’s guaranteed income pilot program was successful and announced
the formation of a committee to guide the next phase.
The pilot program used $42 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act
funds to give monthly $500 payments to 3,250 families.
Last December, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, proposed
the Prohibition on Taxpayer Funding of Guaranteed Income Act. The
measure was referred to the General Assembly’s Rules Committee on Jan.
9, 2025.
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DeLuca said House Bill 60 would prohibit units of government from
using taxpayer money to fund guaranteed income programs.
“What the bill does, it doesn’t say you cannot have a guaranteed
income program. You can have a guaranteed income program, you just
can’t use the taxpayer dollars to do so,” DeLuca told The Center
Square.
DeLuca said, under his legislation, government units could still
manage guaranteed income programs if the funding came from another
source.
“And it gets back to the same issue about managing tax dollars.
People are paying a lot of money in property taxes, certainly in my
area,” DeLuca explained. “Affordability is a huge issue. They feel
like they’re getting nickel-and-dimed by government at all levels.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski called Cook
County’s decision to continue its guaranteed income program “a prime
example of recklessly misguided welfare.”
Dabrowski issued a statement saying the Pritzker administration
helped make Cook County’s move possible, noting the county’s program
contained no work requirement for able-bodied people and no
citizenship requirement.
“Normalizing government dependency, as Cook County’s program clearly
seeks to do, is destructive at a time when Illinoisans, especially
in Cook County, are already reeling from huge tax increases,”
Dabrowski concluded.
Greg Bishop contributed to this story.
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