SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation nearly doubling the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $15 per hour. While anyone in Illinois would be delighted with a nearly 100 percent pay raise, there are negatives that experts warn could happen if such a dramatic hike were to take place – even spread out over ten years.
Illinois Food Retailers Association issued a statement Monday saying they opposed the minimum wage hike, if it does not include different rates for different regions within the state.
The IFRA asked their members to contact their state lawmakers and “urge them to vote no on any proposal that does not consider regional differences in the final starting wage proposal.”
If supporters are successful, Illinois will be the fourth state to enforce such a wage hike, after California and Massachusetts, whose $15 per hour rate will go into effect in 2022 and 2023. New York’s minimum wage of $12.50 will go into effect in two years, and will incrementally rise to $15,00 five years later.
Opponents of an increase argue that raising the minimum wage would likely result in wages and salaries increasing across the board. Such a hike would increase operating expenses for companies that would then increase the prices of products and services to cover their increased labor costs.
Many economists and business executives say labor is a major cost of doing business, and will be force businesses to cut jobs to maintain profitability. The 2013 CBO report estimates that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would result in the loss of approximately 500,000 jobs.
Higher minimum wage could result in increased labor market competition for minimum wage jobs, forcing the very people off the workforce that are making progress from the minimum wage level.
The measure is being discussed currently at the Illinois State Capitol. The new governor JB Pritzker has already said he would sign the bill into law. Former Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a $12 per hour minimum wage last year.
This will destroy manufacting jobs in Illinois. It will also create massive property tax increases in local villages who hire teenagers for summer help at pools, camps, and beaches..it will destroy Illinois.
Hey state legislature, where in the Illinois constitution does it grant you the power to make business decisions for Illinois business owners? Hey state legislature why do you entice illegal aliens to come to Illinois which drives down wages, you know that supply and demand thing. Hey state legislature, why does your abject incompetence and financial failure of state gov’t qualify you to tell business owners how to run their businesses? How can a state legislature tell businesses what they must pay employees when the state of Illinois is eight BILLION dollars behind on their bills to vendors/business owners? Hey state legislature, how can you tell businesses what wages they must pay, when the irresponsible and incompetent, overtaxing and over-regulating state govt has run up an unfunded debt that Moody’s said is the true estimate of Illinois’ unfunded state pension liability of $234 BILLION dollars? Hey worthless state legislature, how can you tell business owners what wage they must pay when your business & job unfriendly policies drives businesses and jobs out of the state. Not to mention the state population in 2018 dropped another 45,000 people. Hey state legislature, how can you justify telling businesses what wage they must pay . According to a recent report by Moody’s Investors Service, Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities equaled 601% of the total state revenues in 2017, a U.S. record. The state’s financial mismanagement makes it impossible to accept the socialist state legislature proposed minimum wage increase serious. The state legislature is the worst enemy we Illinois citizens have. We have the God given right to self-government and freedom from dictatorial rule.
Why allow the state legislators who have never run a successful business tell businesses how to do anything. The socialist/communist like state legislature is unlawfully centralizing more power in the state govt…. the state legislature will assume no responsibility for business failures because of their unlawful power abuse called a $15/hr minimum wage; you can’t find a state legislature who will accept blame for our financial disaster. They have run the state govt to near bankruptcy and the worthless assh%les don’t care!
FIGHT AGAINST $10 BURGERS
The proposed $15/hr minimum wage is an underhanded way to increase revenue without calling it a tax increase, it’s done to make it look like they are doing people a favor. When in reality it’s done to try to cover-up the incompetence of the state legislature and the monstrous state debt and budget deficit from the irresponsible and overspending welfare state democraps. According to several studies Illinoisans are the #1 most heavily taxed people in all 50 states, record numbers of people are leaving from the state because of the cruel tax burden, businesses are leaving the state because of the over-taxation, state debt and oppressive overregulation. Illinois’ small business owners say the state’s business climate is worse than any other in the nation, how does the stupid, arrogant, and power abusing state legislature expect a $15/HR minimum wage is going to improve the state’s business climate? Illinoisan’s already have an obscene tax burden; the socialist controlled state legislature ran out of other people’s money and are now forced to raise revenue by forcing businesses pay a $15/hr wage. Oppressive governmental dictates to businesses are setting the stage for Illinois becoming a socialist/communist state.
Live Free or Die, you really need to run for Alderman of your city, County Board, or Township(or higher office)…really…
Thank you for your kind words but I think the smart thing is to leave this corruption embedded state.
The difficult thing is to convince my wife…
The solution will be more automation, even in fast-food joints.
Machines don’t pay income tax, unemployment tax, take days off, have sick days, and don’t need to be hounded to get them to to their work.
Those “15-dollar-an-hour” employees will become the highest-paid UNEMPLOYED workers in Illinois.