With last year’s passing of the minimum wage hike, one area lawmaker is pushing a bill that would allow local governments more power to opt into a regional minimum wage instead of the state-mandated one.
State Senator Chuck Weaver of Peoria says that a bill he’s filed would be an alternative to the $15 minimum wage and would give local municipalities more control over the minimum wage.
“What my bill does… it basically says that Springfield doesn’t have all the answers and that local government understands their community better. Understands the economics in their community better,” Weaver says. “And, this would allow a municipality or a county to opt-out of the statewide minimum wage into their regional minimum wage.”
Weaver says downstate communities have a lower cost of living than that of Chicago, a city that may require $15 an hour to help with the higher cost of living.
“So a community like Galesburg or Peoria might be 20 percent or 30 percent under the cost of living of Chicago and the minimum wage would be adjusted accordingly.
Weaver says that not-for-profit services and government agencies would also be impacted by the regional minimum wage legislation.
He says the Illinois Municipal League supports the bill, SB3396. Several senators have signed on to sponsor the bill, including Quincy’s Jil Tracy.
Currently, the bill sits in the Assignments Committee and has yet to be assigned to a public hearing.
Weaver said there is a tremendous amount of pressure in downstate Illinois to get the $15 minimum wage changed.
