Chicago will soon learn whether its bid for Amazon’s second headquarters has won over the e-commerce conglomerate. But while it waits, the city has a chance to take a step that could do more for many low-income families than the location of Amazon's HQ2 here: Chicago could become the second city in the U.S.—and the first major metropolis—to host a “basic income” pilot program.

“HQ1” for basic income is Stockton, Calif., a struggling city 90 minutes east of San Francisco with roughly one-ninth Chicago’s population. Stockton's dynamic 28-year-old mayor has teamed up with private donors to provide 100 Stockton residents with $500 a month—roughly equal to the Census Bureau’s threshold for “deep poverty” for a single individual. The program aims to launch early next year.

Chicago’s bid to become the HQ2 for basic income is led by Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, who has introduced a resolution in the City Council calling on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to create a task force to develop a basic income pilot. Pawar’s resolution envisions a program that would provide $500 per month to 1,000 low-income Chicago families. Thirty-five other council members have signed on. Emanuel has yet to weigh in. 

The mayor should move forward with the plan—for three reasons.

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