Reviving Our Coalition to Support Direct File in Chicago

In 2023, when we shut down our pandemic era coalition, we never thought we’d open it up again just two years later. Stimulus checks were winding down and so had the philanthropic funding that had kept teams like ours going.

We’d managed to help over 220,000 people get clear information about how to receive their stimulus checks through our website alone. Thousands of others had received help from nonprofits, schools, libraries, or local government agencies we’d trained, given mini grants, or shared materials with.Elders and people who have limited literacy or difficulty using a computer got help through our call lines with trained VITA volunteers. We’d shared what we’d learned about just how hard it was to access pandemic-era stimulus checks and tax credits when you’re low-income, homeless, coming out of an abusive relationship, or don’t have access to technology, among other challenges. Along with other partners around the country, our lessons learned had helped change how stimulus checks and other tax credits are distributed and talked about.

When we learned Direct File would be implemented in Illinois in January 2025, we were thrilled. Our team had seen firsthand how challenging it can be for hardworking people who desperately need a financial boost each year to access tax refunds they are eligible for. Some low-income, essential workers were eligible for thousands of dollars and had no idea. We’d heard in interviews with parents how scared they were of making a mistake and met grandparents who couldn’t get the Child Tax Credit even though they had custody of their grandchildren and were raising them. We’d heard from parents making less than $10,000 a year that they regularly paid $400 to have their taxes prepared to make sure they didn’t make any errors. For years, we’d talked about how amazing it would be to have a free tool that made it much simpler to file taxes.

We were excited when a group of funders came to us and asked us to revive our successful coalition to make sure more people in Chicago are able to access Direct File and receive their tax credits. With the rising price of living and more and more Chicagoans telling us how hard it is to make ends meet, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Direct File was thoughtfully designed, is so easy to use, and has over a 90 percent approval rating from users. While there is more work to do to make sure it is accessible to everyone, Direct File has the potential to make taxes so much easier for people who are just trying to make ends meet. They already have enough to worry about.

Our coalition looks a little different now. Sadly, one of our leading partners, Heartland Alliance, is no longer in operation. But, our core team is just as committed to making sure Chicago communities have one less bill to worry about and more money in their pockets.