Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle speaks with county officials and Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs at the Chicago Cultural Center on Wednesday

Cook County is pushing forward with a plan to funnel $42 million in federal stimulus money into a guaranteed income pilot program that aims to start sending out checks by the end of 2022, officials announced Wednesday. The program is set to dwarf Chicago’s $31.5 million cash assistance program to become “the nation’s largest publicly funded guaranteed income initiative,” according to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office.