City Council approves Mayor Lightfoot's gas and transit card program
CHICAGO (CBS)-- The City Council on Wednesday narrowly approved Mayor Lori Lightfoot's $12.5 million plan to give out prepaid gas cards and transit cards to thousands of Chicagoans.
The council voted 26-23 to approve the mayor's "Chicago Moves" program, which would provide 50,000 prepaid $150 gas cards, and 100,000 transit cards that could be used to cover $50 worth of CTA fares.
Many aldermen who supported the program said they've already been flooded with calls from people who live in their wards asking how they can apply for one of the cards.
"I stand in support of this," said Ald. David Moore (17th). "Had to listen to my residents on this, and they're saying they need something now because they are hurting right now."
"My office has been flooded with calls from our constituents with a need for us to help them trying to apply for these cards. So I think that this is a home run for many, many constituents," said Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th).
However, many aldermen argued the city would be better off spending the $12.5 million on other matters, particularly public safety.
"I applaud this council and I applaud you for trying to address an issue that our neighborhoods are seeing, but this is 100% the wrong way to go," said Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), who has announced he is running for mayor in 2023. "To say it comes off as a gimmick would be an understatement. We have hundreds of millions of dollars that we can use to improve the lives of our residents, and this is the route that we're going. This body should do better. This body can do better."
Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) said the city should instead be focused on addressing violent crime, especially carjackings and shootings.
"Until we start addressing the 800-pound gorilla in the room, which is the crime, then we're going to continue to go down this road," Beale said. "We need to address the crime, and get people back to enjoying this city."
Lightfoot shrugged said criticisms that the gas card and transit card plan is a political gimmick were "nonsense."
"The bottom line is, in this city, there are people who barely have a couple dollars in their pocket, and now they cannot meet a basic need," she said.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who chairs the City Council Black Caucus, applauded the mayor for making changes to the proposal to make sure the gas cards go to those who need them most.
"Many of us don't have the luxuries of other communities, and I look at this as a way to help those that have been most challenged, not only by COVID, but most challenged by economic conditions, and most challenged in life, period. Anything that we can do to help give people a leg up, a hand up, I think is something we as a body need to do," he said.
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) said every alderperson wants to help Chicago residents, but she said there's a better way to help than essentially just giving people money for a couple tanks' worth of gas.
"When we're giving $3 million to the food depository, and [$7.5 million] for gas cards, something is a little off. When we're not funding anti-violence, violence prevention programs, violence interrupters at the same rate that we're doing for gas cards, that's not right," she said.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said, while high gas prices are obviously a problem for drivers in Chicago, he doesn't believe the city should be subsidizing fossil fuels, especially just after celebrating Earth Week
"I think, symbolically, it's a bad move for the city to be giving away free gas, knowing it's going to burn up into the ether, and be gone," he said.
Reilly said he wished the $12.5 million would instead be spent on improving safety on the CTA.
While Lightfoot said she agrees the city needs to lower its carbon footprint, she said, "back in planet reality, a lot of folks have to drive, because we have huge stretches of our city that don't have transportation. We also have a lot of folks who live in the city, but have to go to the suburbs for their job, and the only way to get there is to drive."
The mayor's plan had faced significant pushback from many aldermen since she first announced it earlier this month, prompting Lightfoot to make a series of changes to her plan, including reducing the income threshold from 140% of the area median income – or $140,000 for a family of four – to 100% of the area median income – or $93,200 for a family of four.
After some aldermen complained that even the lower income threshold would not ensure the gas and transit cards would go to Chicagoans who are forced to drive because they either don't feel safe riding the CTA, or don't have easy access to public transportation, Lightfoot made further changes to her proposal, to set aside 75% of the 50,000 gas cards to be given away for people living in South and West side neighborhoods deemed to be "high mobility hardship" areas with the remaining 25% being given away citywide.
A total of 150,000 cards will go out -- 50,000 gas cards and 100,000 transit cards -- and if demand is high enough, a lottery system will be used to determine which qualifying applicants will get them.
Lightfoot has denied her program is a reaction to millionaire mayoral candidate Willie Wilson's gas giveaways, as some critics have complained. Her chief financial officer, Jennie Huang Bennett, told aldermen last week the plan was modeled on programs in other cities and states offering government-funded gas card and transit card programs.
Applications for the program are now available at chicago.gov/ChicagoMoves.
Applications are also accepted in person at any Chicago Public Library, or by mailing the city's Department of Finance. If you prefer to pick up the card, you'll need to go to City Hall with valid ID.
City officials have said cards will be given out in monthly batches from May through September. Deadlines to apply will be the first of each month. If you're not selected in the month you applied, you'll be automatically enrolled in the lottery for the next month.