Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker fulfilled a campaign promise Tuesday morning by signing a bill recently passed by the General Assembly that will make Illinois’ minimum wage $15 by 2025. 

“This will improve the lives of families across Illinois, and it will lift people out of poverty,” Pritzker said at a ceremony in Springfield before signing the bill. “The accomplishment here is nothing less than historic.” 

The new law will increase the minimum wage, currently $8.25 an hour, to $9.25 on Jan. 1, 2020. It will then rise to $10 that July, $11 on Jan. 1, 2021 and continue going up $1 each year until it hits $15 in 2025. 

The bill also provides some protection for small businesses, as it includes a tax credit for businesses with fewer than 50 “full-time equivalent” employees. 

The tax credit starts at 25 percent of the cost of wage increases in 2020 and declines 4 percent per year until it is at 5 percent in 2025. 

Proponents of the bill said the new law will help low-wage workers and have a minimal impact on businesses. 

Those opposed to the hike argue it will hurt businesses and negatively impact the state’s budget. 

The legislation passed through the Senate on Feb. 7 with no Republicans voting in favor…>>> 

Read more in the February 20, 2019, issue.

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