From [HERE] In Chicago, a tax refund intercept program that allows the city to collect unpaid tickets, court fees, and other debt by garnishing state tax refunds disproportionately impacts the city’s poor Black and Latino residents. An investigation by The Chicago Reporter and Type Investigations found that 80% of the $13.5 million collected by the city in 2018 was intercepted from residents in ZIP codes where the median household income falls below the city’s median household income of $55,000, and 90% of the funds were from residents living in predominantly non-white neighborhoods.

The program, started by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, continues during Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration despite her vow to stop penalizing poor residents as a way to raise revenue. “The system itself is not providing affordable ways for them to actually pay the debt. It’s just kind of a backdoor way of doing it, and it’s not helping that particular person who is struggling,” said Tracy Occomy Crowder, a senior organizer with Community Organizing and Family Issues. According to Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza: “The city should consider alternative methods of debt settlement for lower-income people to pay some of these fines, such as more flexible payment plans or other creative options.”