Democratic lawmakers will try once again to raise the states minimum wage. This time to $15 an hour. The minimum wage in Illinois is currently $8.25. If passed the wage would go up over five years starting at $9 an hour in January 2018. It would reach $15 by 2022.
Businesses are expected to wage a strong fight to defeat the legislation which will be filed this week. Democrats are offering tax credits to businesses with fewer than 50 employees as a way to offset higher costs. The incentive to the state would be lowering the number of people on government assistance. A $15 minimum wage would see workers earning over $31,000 a year. Forty-percent of Illinois workers earn less than $15 an hour. The last hike in the states minimum wage was in 2011.