This week the House
Labor committee moved HB 3345, a bill that would increase Illinois’ minimum
wage, onto the House floor.
The bill is similar
to one that passed the Illinois Senate earlier this year, but instead hikes the
wage to $10.00 per hour after July 1, 2016. The Senate version, SB 11, increases the wage
to $11 by 2019.
Both bills provide
a tax credit on payroll for those small businesses that pay the current minimum
wage of $8.25 and it prevents local governments from passing their own minimum
wage except for Chicago, which would be able to keep their wage at $13.
While Gov. Bruce Rauner has indicated a willingness to support a minimum wage hike, he has said
he would only do so if it was accompanied by significant reforms in the state’s
workers’ compensation system and other reforms that would reduce the cost of
doing business in Illinois.
It is clear, with
two versions of a wage hike now moving through the legislative process and
Governor Rauner’s feeling on the issue, if minimum wage is to pass it will
likely be part of a larger package.
