Cook County crafts formula for CARES Act funding distribution
Plan emphasizes struggling areas, righting inequities
Cook County government officials are expected to consider an “equitable funding formula” that guides how $51 million in federal stimulus money will be distributed among suburban municipalities, with a focus on historically neglected communities confronting a greater peril of financial wreckage from the coronavirus pandemic, the board president said.
The formula places a significant weight on municipalities with economically struggling areas, and mostly will lead to south and west suburbs receiving the largest amount of funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to a Cook County government document. Close to 130 cities, towns and villages will share in the $51 million for COVID-19 expenses under the formula, which the Cook County Board is set to vote on during a Thursday special meeting.
“I always say that this country struggles with endemic racism, and that’s reflected in both public and private sector actions,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle told the Tribune on Wednesday. “If you’re talking about housing, if you’re talking about education, if you’re talking about employment opportunities, communities of color across the county have struggled.”
Railing against longstanding inequities among Black and Latino communities, which have experienced a disproportionate amount of COVID-19 deaths, has been a hallmark message of Preckwinkle’s throughout the pandemic. She said the formula under consideration Thursday will ensure more of the $51 million in federal funds will go to municipalities that need it the most.
The top recipient of the CARES Act funding would be Cicero at about $1.1 million, followed by Berwyn, Harvey, Dolton and Chicago Heights with amounts above $700,000. After that, Calumet City, Blue Island, Maywood, Oak Lawn and Markham would follow. Some suburbs without high thresholds of socioeconomic and public health needs, such as Evanston and Des Plaines, were in the top 20 municipalities because of their population size and would receive amounts greater than $600,000.
The formula weighs four components in varying degrees. The factors are: 40% for the percentage of population located in economically disconnected or disinvested areas, as defined by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; 30% for median income; 20% for COVID-19 deaths per capita; and 10% for tax base per capita.
Such economically distressed areas, referred to as EDAs, typically have concentrated low-income households and either minority or limited English proficiency populations, according to CMAP. These regions suffer from disadvantages such as higher unemployment, lower education levels among residents and longer commute times. The document states that most Cook County suburbs either have all or none of their populations in EDAs.
“There’s a number of areas within southern and southern western parts of the county that have had historical disinvestment for a number of reasons,” county Chief Financial Officer Ammar Rizki said. “They were facing pretty much an onslaught when it comes to having dealing with these issues around COVID-19 and their first responders working with their community members, but they did not have the resources available to do that.”
Two-thirds of the $51 million allocation was multiplied by the proportion of the municipality’s score to total scores across Cook County municipalities. The other one-third was weighed based on how the municipality’s population ranks with suburban Cook County’s total population.
The formula is unlike any known in other counties, according to National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase.
“The way they did it I think meets the times and really reflects that this pandemic is hitting different parts of our communities very differently,” Chase said. “I’ve not seen anything like it. I’ve seen counties use an equity lens but have not seen it to this extent.”
Last week, Preckwinkle announced that the influx of funding, which makes up 12% of the total $429 million coronavirus relief fund given to Cook County under the CARES Act, will begin landing in the coffers of over 100 cities, towns and villages.
The federal aid comes with the stipulation that local governments may only use it for direct COVID-19-related expenses, such as reimbursements for personal protective equipment or other costs incurred responding directly to the pandemic. Lost revenue such as decreased yields from sales, amusement and other nonproperty taxes throughout the outbreak cannot be offset by CARES Act funding.
Preckwinkle said the $51 million is “of course” not nearly enough to right historic unequal investment across the suburbs. She is optimistic more relief will come from the federal government. The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has approved another round of stimulus funding, but the U.S. Senate has not.
The resolution on the formula, which eight out of 17 Cook County commissioners have co-sponsored, is expected to pass on Thursday, Preckwinkle said.
“There were communities, even before COVID-19 hit, that were already struggling in terms of income levels, economic issues, health care issues, disparities.” Rizki said. “What the pandemic did was just made it worse. … Trying to look at that from a data standpoint is what the goal was for us.”