Catholic Charities to lead community outreach for CityKey ID
Catholic Charities and two other delegate agencies will be paid $ 443,470 through Dec. 31 to help administer Chicago’s controversial CityKey municipal identification program, City Clerk Anna Valencia disclosed Tuesday.
Joining Catholic Charities in the outreach program pivotal to the citywide launch of the municipal ID program will be Phalanx Family Services and a group of more than 40 organizations led by the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition.
Together, the three delegate agencies will be responsible for: educating Chicagoans on the value and side benefits of the municipal ID program; helping CityKey applicants collect necessary documents and staffing mobile sites where the IDs will be distributed; supporting the city clerk’s office in that effort.
Enrollment is free for the first 100,000 applicants; after that, it’s a $ 10 fee — $ 5 for those 17 and under. Applicants 65 and older also get the cards free, and fee waivers may be available for low- income and homeless Chicagoans, veterans, victims of domestic violence and participants in the One Summer Chicago jobs program.
After spending $ 1 million and allocating another $ 1 million for 2018, Mayor Rahm Emanuel initially hoped to start issuing IDs by Dec. 31 for cards thatwould double as Ventra and library cards. The date was initially pushed back to March after a first- quarter test to “ensure security and full integration of card features.” That didn’t happen, either. No date has been set for the citywide launch even though a fourth side benefit has been added: discounts on name- brand and generic prescription drugs at no direct cost to the city or participating residents.