Child tax credits bring relief to Illinois families, but critics worry it won’t reach most vulnerable | State and Regional

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.

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.