- Published: Thursday, February 07, 2019 12:50 PM
State Senator Jacqueline Collins issued the following statement today after voting for Senate Bill 1, would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.
“A working family should not need to be on food stamps in order to survive,” Collins said. “Economists argue that by the measure of Americans' productivity – their output and real accomplishments while at work – the minimum wage should now be more than $19 per hour. To afford the average rent on a two-bedroom apartment in Illinois requires a wage of nearly $21 per hour. This is just a step toward achieving sustainability for Illinois families that doesn’t come at the expense of taxpayers.”
Illinois’ current minimum wage is $8.25 per hour, low enough that a single parent working a full-time minimum-wage job qualifies for food stamps, Medicaid and often housing assistance.
The increase under Senate Bill 1 will mean the minimum wage for workers who receive tips would increase to $9 per hour by 2025.
Senate Bill 1 would increase the minimum wage according to the following incremental schedule:
- $9.25 per hour on Jan. 1, 2020
- $10 per hour on July 1, 2020
- $11 per hour on Jan. 1, 2021
- $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022
- $13 per hour on Jan. 1, 2023
- $14 per hour on Jan. 1, 2024
- $15 per hour after Jan. 1, 2025
Having passed the Senate 39-18, the measure now heads to the Illinois House for consideration.
