The Chicago City Council approved Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to give $12.5 million worth of gasoline and transit cards to city residents, with taxpayers funding the plan.
The plan, titled “Chicago Moves,” was approved by the Chicago City Council by a vote of 26-23 on Wednesday.
As part of the plan, the city will hand out 50,000 gas cards that are worth up to $150, as well as 100,000 public transportation cards for the city’s transit system that are worth up to $50 each, according to Fox 32 Chicago. To be eligible for the plan, a couple can earn up to $75,000, and a family of four who makes $93,000 per year.
Over 75% of the giveaways would benefit people in minority neighborhoods who are facing “mobility hardship,” according to the report.
There will be a citywide lottery for the remaining 25%, which will be distributed “in equal portions to each ward,” according to officials.
The mayor’s name is displayed on the proposed design of the prepaid Mastercard.
Lightfoot’s plan hasn’t won the approval of some City Council members, and one person says that the gas cards are being uses by the mayor as a “promotional gimmick for a re-election campaign.”
“What’s more important? A senior that doesn’t have heat or to give out free gas cards as a promotional gimmick for a re-election campaign?,” Alderman Anthony Beale said.
Alderman Gilbert Villegas said during an interview with WTTW that the mayor’s name should not be on the card.
“I don’t think that’s a good look,” Villegas said.
* story by Fox News
