This week the Illinois minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $10 an hour.
The increase is part of the state’s path to a $15 minimum wage by the year 2025. Jason Keller, the assistant director of the Illinois Department of Labor, said workers putting in 40 hours a week should expect about $30 extra dollars a week.
“You know, the intent of the bill is put more money back into the economy when you put it into the workers pockets," said Keller. "They'll spend it in the local economy and everyone will benefit.”
Keller also said that the General Assembly and the governor provided for some tax credits for employers to account for the increase in wages.
The next wage increase is scheduled for January 1, 2021 and will bring Illinois’ minimum wage to $11 an hour.
- Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco is a 2020 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project which is a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms.
