The Illinois House voted to expand Illinois’ prevailing-wage mandate to additional projects.

– HB 1189 (Hoffman) would apply Illinois’ prevailing-wage requirements on federally funded projects when the federal prevailing-wage rate is equal to or less than the state’s prevailing-wage rate.

– HB 3266 (Benton) would expand Illinois’ prevailing-wage mandate to private projects and developments located in TIF districts that receive any public funds unless the total cost of the project was less than $25,000 or specialty contractors were required due to a historic district designation.

Prevailing-wage contracts increase costs, create administrative complexity, and add onerous paperwork requirements for contractors. As a result, many smaller contractors are unable to compete for public projects subject to prevailing-wage requirements.

Decreasing competition for public projects also results in higher public costs, reducing the effectiveness of public investments/spending.

Reach out to your lawmakers today and tell them to oppose further expansions to Illinois’ prevailing-wage mandate!