Chicago Wage Hike Could Endanger Statewide Push

John Gregory -- Illinois Radio Network

A proposed minimum wage increase in Chicago may sour the deal for a statewide raise, according to business groups.

While a bill to raise the wage to $10 per hour next July hasn’t yet made it out of the Illinois Senate, the Chicago City Council is set to vote on increasing the city’s wage to $13 per hour. That vote may come Tuesday.

Business groups claim any increase in a particular city threatens the deal at the state level. If Chicago did act on its own, the state could still preempt that increase later, according to Illinois Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr. He’s not convinced state lawmakers would do so.

“My understanding of that is the state can act. The question has become will they be likely to? Will it be seen as rollback? There are political considerations that outweigh that,” Karr said. “The state could come in and preempt retroactively.”

The current Senate legislation does not include a preemption clause for home rule cities.

The Chicago City Council is expected to vote on its minimum wage ordinance Tuesday, the same day lawmakers return to Springfield for the second half of the veto session.