Cook County received $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2021.
After distributing $800 million of those ARPA funds to 73 community programs and spending nearly $200 million on county operations, county leaders are looking for input to determine which programs should continue and how to sustain them as originally funding dries up.
Today is the last day for people to submit their thoughts to the Community Voices Survey about prioritizing potential future funding.
The county has held four community meetings to explain the programs and take suggestions. The latest one at Harper Community College in Palatine was held Wednesday and attended by County Board Commissioners Scott Britton of Glenview and Maggie Trevor of Rolling Meadows, as well as Rolling Meadows Mayor Lara Sanoica and State Rep. Michelle Mussman.
Suburban input is important, considering how ARPA funds have helped communities in the suburbs directly, but also through county initiatives, such as infrastructure improvements, county officials said.
Cook County funds have been used to support programs based on six policy pillars: Health and Well Being; Economic Development; Criminal Legal System; Environment & Sustainability; Public Infrastructure; and Good Government.
Cook County does not provide a breakdown of funds spent between Chicago and the suburbs, but Britton said his district has benefited from the federal dollars sent to the county.
“When I ran for reelection, I just said my purpose is to make Cook County more fair, more equitable and more just. ARPA allows us to do that,” he said.
In his district alone, 147 people are participants in the county’s guaranteed income pilot program, which provides $500 monthly cash payments to 3,250 low-to-moderate income families in Cook County for a period of two years.
In addition, Britton said, nine manufacturers have completed 10 projects, with a total of $82,444 awarded.
Small businesses in his district have also benefit, with $3.65 million awarded to 203 14th District recipients.
Britton said he would like to see programs helping small business continue, as well as the continuation of a grant program helping local manufacturers.
He said business owners reported getting “even a small grant, $20,000, was essential to them staying open and keeping people employed.”
Trevor said she favors programs focusing on infrastructure improvements.
“If we’re spending money on infrastructure improvements, it has a ripple effect on the economy,” she said.
Britton said commissioners worked together to ensure funding equity.
“I think the process was fair,” he said. “And I think that we got some significant numbers of dollars that have been very impactful on our districts.”
But he added that money spent outside the northwest suburbs is a benefit to everyone, especially the violence interdiction programs.
“I don’t believe there was any gross inequity in how these funds were distributed,” he added. “I think it’s going to be a challenge for us to figure out where we can and cannot continue programs, because it is going to be difficult.”