900 children in suburban Cook County public housing to get free laptops as remote learning continues to present digital barriers

Hundreds of school-age children in suburban Cook County (IL)  public housing will get free laptops paid for by federal coronavirus stimulus money starting Oct 7, as part of an ongoing effort to ensure digital access after the COVID-19 pandemic upended in-person learning. About $270,000 of CARES Act money allocated to the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) will be used to purchase laptops for 900 students who live in the public housing complexes to keep and otherwise would struggle to complete remote learning. The giveaway is part of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s efforts to address long-standing racial inequities that have intensified under the grip of the coronavirus.

HACC Executive Director Richard Monocchio said the new program was an “incalculable investment” because unlike electronic devices loaned from some school districts during the academic year, these laptops don’t need to be returned. “I can’t think of a better way, to be quite honest, to invest government funding than on our kids,” Monocchio said. “This pandemic has really magnified the discrepancies that we see in this country and this county. And it’s not acceptable.”