Stimulus Checks: 3 States Support Low-Income Families

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In the absence of federal stimulus checks, states continue to provide targeted assistance to their people. 

Applications for the city’s Resilient Communities Monthly Cash Assistance Pilot, in which the city will distribute $500 to 5,000 low-income households, will open soon in Chicago.

At the time of writing, the Chicago basic income initiative was still in its early stages. Applicants will be able to enroll in the program in April, for example. A lottery will also be used to choose participants.  

Stimulus checks from Chicago, Maine, and Oregon

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $1.2 billion Chicago Recovery Plan includes this notion. This, in turn, depends on $31.5 million in federal funds for 2021 under the American Rescue Plan.

No conditions would apply to the recipients of the basic income funds. That is, they have complete discretion over how they spend the funds. To be eligible, applicants must be at least 18 years old, have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have a household income of less than 250 percent of the federal poverty line.

As previously said, this endeavor in Chicago comes at a time when a once-fervent national campaign to provide regular stimulus checks has halted.

From July through December of last year, the federal government delivered six Child Tax Credit stimulus payments. This tendency, according to the majority of Democrats, will continue until 2022. According to BGR, they did not expect that attempt to collapse in the Senate, where Democrats have a razor-thin majority, owing to a single Democrat’s opposition.

Maine is one of the states that has received or is preparing to receive stimulus funds. Gov. Janet Mills wants the inflation stimulus check to be increased by $250. Mills opted to increase the amount of the inflation stimulus checks after the state commission forecast an increase in state revenue.

Mills announced her desire to boost the amount of the inflation stimulus checks following a meeting of the state’s revenue forecasting commission on Tuesday. The panel forecasts an additional $411.6 million in income through June 2023. The state’s income was originally estimated to be $822 million by the commission.

Mills chose to double the state’s inflation stimulus check to $750, accounting for half of the predicted income rise. According to Entrepreneur, if the state senate approves Mills’ supplemental budget plan, the inflation stimulus check will be mailed to roughly 800,000 Maine residents in July.

Meanwhile, state senators recently authorized a plan to provide qualified residents with one-time $600 payments. Many Oregonians who are currently struggling financially may benefit significantly from this stimulus money. In 2020, residents will be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which they can claim on their tax returns. Those who amend their 2020 tax returns before April 15, 2022, will be eligible for a refund.

According to the Oregon Department of Revenue, some 250,000 households are projected to qualify. The Department of Revenue will handle the payment. The funds will come from the American Rescue Plan Act created State Fiscal Recovery Fund.

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