Evanston Expands Guaranteed Income With Remaining ARPA Funds as 100-Plus City Pilots Face 2026 Cliff
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 29
Evanston Expands Guaranteed Income With Remaining ARPA Funds as 100-Plus City Pilots Face 2026 Cliff
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 29
Summary
Evanston officials widened the Chicago suburb’s guaranteed income program by tapping the last of its previously allocated American Rescue Plan funds before the federal spending window closes.
Dec. 31, 2026 is the key deadline for most obligated ARPA money, leaving dozens of mayors scrambling to keep pandemic-era cash pilots alive as their main funding source runs out.
More than 100 U.S. municipalities have launched guaranteed-income-style pilots since 2018, but advocates are now shifting from donor and relief funding toward permanent taxpayer-backed budgets.
An Aug. 12 Economic Security Project report argued cash aid should be tied to life transitions—such as childbirth, job loss, relocation or reentry after incarceration—to make programs more effective and politically saleable.
The push is already drawing resistance: Texas state Sen. Paul Bettencourt said guaranteed income should be unconstitutional and wants Attorney General Ken Paxton to weigh in.