RESOLUTION URGING THE ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO INCREASE THE STATE MINIMUM WAGE TO $10.65 AN HOUR
WHEREAS, the current minimum wage in the State of Illinois is $8.25 an hour; and
WHEREAS, about 400,000 Illinois workers earn the minimum wage, 84-percent of those workers are 20-years-old or order, and the majority work full time; and
WHEREAS, a worker working full time at minimum wage earns just $17,160 a year, below the poverty level for a family of three; and
WHEREAS, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, had the minimum wage kept pace with inflation, it would be more than $10.65 an hour; and
WHEREAS, Governor Patrick Quinn has publically supported an increase of the minimum wage to $10.65 an hour over three years; and
WHEREAS, President Barack Obama in his annual State of the Union address called on states to increase their minimum wages while he works toward a national increase in the minimum wage; and
WHEREAS, an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimates that increasing the minimum wage to $10.65 an hour would result in $3.8 billion in increase wage payments, and an increase to the state GDP of between $2 billion and $2.8 billion; and
WHEREAS, our state's past experience shows that increasing the minimum wage does not negatively impact job creation, as Illinois had higher job growth in 2004 and 2005 than many neighboring states despite increasing the minimum wage in those years; and
WHEREAS, most minimum wage jobs are in service-sector businesses that are based in the community and cannot be moved out of state; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 3718 and Senate Bill 68 would increase the minimum wage over three years to $10.65 an hour; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Chicago declare our support for jfc increasing the minimum wage to $ 10.65 an hour over three years; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Secretary of State ofthe State of Illinois, the Clerk of the House of the ...
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