CHICAGO — For Chicago resident Lana Waters, the recent arrival of her first $550 child tax credit check will ease the pinch to her pocketbook when shopping for back-to-school supplies and uniforms this month for her two young daughters.
“It’s actually already coming in handy, as it’s right around the start of the new school year, and I was unemployed for a while during the pandemic,” said Waters, 32.
Waters, of the Woodlawn neighborhood, lost her longtime job as a bartender during COVID-19 shutdowns, and is now working as a contact tracer and booking vaccine appointments at the nonprofit Ada S. McKinley Community Services.
She said the new monthly child tax credit payment, directly deposited in her bank account last week, “is a good step in making me feel financially stable.”
“I think it’s a great step for every household, because we won’t be living paycheck-to-paycheck, worrying about making ends meet, and always trying to figure out how to pay the rent and keep the lights on,” Waters said.
The child tax credit of $250 or $300 per child in the American Rescue Plan represents “the largest child tax credit ever” to most working families, according to the White House.
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The first of six monthly payments — the remaining tax credit will arrive after families file their tax returns — began arriving automatically this month for those who filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or signed up to receive a stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service.
Chicago resident Lana Waters at Ada S. McKinley Community Services, July 23, 2021. Waters, who has two children, is one of many who will be receiving the newly expanded child tax credit.
While President Joe Biden is calling for Congress to extend the expansive tax relief effort beyond this year, some critics warn that because the funds automatically reach only those who file taxes, the poorest of the poor could inadvertently be excluded.
In Illinois, an estimated 11.5% of residents were living in poverty, according to a 2019 U.S. Census Bureau report. Nationwide, around 8% of households earned between $15,000 to $24,999 in 2019, according to the report.
“The child tax credit is a great program, but it doesn’t actually reach many of the most vulnerable people for the same reason the stimulus checks didn’t — because it’s administered through the IRS,” said Tyler Hall, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Give Directly.
With married households earning less than around $25,000 exempt from filing income taxes — and roughly one-third of Americans in poverty not enrolled in a single federal safety net program — accessing the child tax credit payments can be unduly prohibitive, especially for those without internet access, a bank account or a permanent mailing address, Hall said.
Proponents say the program, if made permanent, has the potential to reduce child poverty across the U.S. by half. Hall said the first step should be ensuring benefits are being delivered to those most in need.
“There are a lot of ways to target people in poverty which are unique to the spaces where they live,” Hall said.
Families who have at least one qualifying child and earned less than $24,800 as a married couple, $18,650 as a head of household or $12,400 as a single filer can use the IRS non-filer sign-up tool to get the child tax credit and receive missing stimulus payments, according to the White House.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, who supports making the program permanent, said Thursday he is confident the city’s social service providers and neighborhood “grapevines” are getting the word out to Chicago families who are exempt from filing taxes.
Recalling his own childhood, Rush said growing up in poverty meant that some days, the only food in the family’s cupboard was bread and syrup.
“You’re going to see young mothers who are now going to be able to buy their children a new pair of shoes, and have additional income to make sure there is a wholesome meal on the table,” Rush said.
Gov. Pritkzer signs HB 3308 into law, increasing access to telehealth services in communities across Illinois.
The expanded child tax credit will help around 88% of children in Rush’s 1st Congressional District — an estimated 146,200 children — with an average benefit of $3,100 heading to 43,000 households, Rush said.
The program is anticipated to lift 15,300 children in the district out of poverty, Rush said, with families with children in poverty on average slated to receive an annual tax credit of $5,000, he said.
“The coronavirus pandemic is certainly earth-shattering, and right now, it’s all-consuming, but child poverty is just as lethal, and more lethal in some ways because it’s longstanding,” Rush said.
In Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, Margaret McGaw-Sullivan, a mother of four special-needs children, said she and her husband were grateful when a $800 child tax credit check arrived in their bank account last week.
While McGaw-Sullivan said she and her husband are both employed and own a home, their insurance does not cover the entire cost of special services for their children, ages 9 months to 18, making the monthly tax credit checks a welcome addition to the family’s budget.
“I think families are all kind of struggling to get by these days, and no one is going to get rich from these tax credits, which we’re going to spend, so it will go right back into the economy,” said McGaw-Sullivan, who works in food service and as a teacher’s aide at her children’s school district.
“It’s important to be grateful, but now we need to push for it to be permanent in the future,” she said.
See the new Illinois laws that took effect July 1
665 bills
The Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly approved 665 bills this legislative session, with the vast majority awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature.
But, Pritzker has signed 42 bills into law. A handful of those will take effect Jan. 1, 2022, but most went into effect immediately upon signing or will take effect this Thursday.
Here are some notable new laws in effect now or on Thursday that Illinoisans should know.
Election reform
With pandemic-related delays to U.S. Census redistricting numbers, lawmakers moved back the state’s 2022 primary election from March 15 to June 28. The legislation also makes Election Day a state holiday, requires every county to have at least one universal voting center and allow people to be added to a permanent vote-by-mail list. (SB825)
Vote by mail
Some pandemic-induced changes to voting for the 2020 general election, such as vote-by-mail and curbside drop-off, will now be permanent features of future elections. (House Bill 1871)
State legislative redistricting
As they are tasked with doing every 10 years, lawmakers approved new district boundaries for the Illinois House and Senate. The Democrat-drawn maps, which utilized the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey instead of waiting for the decennial census numbers that will arrive later this year, have been challenged in court by Republicans and some other groups. (HB2777)
Illinois Supreme Court redistricting
The seven-person Illinois Supreme Court’s district boundaries were successfully redrawn for the first time since the 1960s. (SB642)
Police reform
There was no more controversial bill that passed this year than House Bill 3653, also known as the SAFE-T Act, which passed during the lame duck session this January. The provisions ending cash bail and requiring all police to wear body cameras will not take effect until 2023 and 2025, respectively. But starting Thursday, police will be required to render aid to the injured, intervene when a fellow officer is using excessive force and and be limited in use of force. It also offers stricter guidelines for the decertification of officers and would allow people to file anonymous complaints of police misconduct. (HB3653)
Payday loans
Lenders are now prohibited from charging more than 36% annual percentage rate on consumer loans. The average rate in Illinois was nearly 300% prior to the law’s signing. (SB1792)
Vaccine lottery
Tucked into the state’s fiscal year 2022 budget is $10 million for a “vaccine lottery.” All Illinois residents vaccinated by July 1 will be automatically entered into the contest. It includes $7 million in cash prizes to vaccinated adults, ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, and $3 million in scholarship awards to vaccinated youth. (SB2800)
COVID-19 emergency housing
Created guidelines for distributing more than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds for COVID-related housing relief. Also creates automatic sealing of evictions during the pandemic. (SB2877)
Pretrial interest
Victims in personal injury and wrongful death cases will be allowed to collect interest from defendants from the time a lawsuit is filed. It is meant to incentivize settlement of these cases. It was supported by the trial lawyers and opposed by business groups. (SB72)
Casino labor
All casino applicants in Illinois are now required to enter into a project-labor agreement when seeking a new or renewed license. (SB1360)
Crime victims compensation
Provides that a victim’s criminal history or felony status shall not automatically prevent compensation to that victim or the victim’s family. Extends the applicant’s period for submitting requested information to 45 days from 30 days and provides that a final award shall not exceed $45,000, up from $27,000, for a crime committed on or after August 7, 2022. (HB3295)
Electronic signature
Provides that a contract, record, or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability simply because it is in electronic form or an electronic record was used in its formation. Provides that if a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law. (SB2176)