Blagojevich signs minimum wage hike

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By The Associated Press | Monday, December 18, 2006 4:33 PM CST | () comments

(The Associated Press) Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, center, receives cheers after signing a new law to increase the state's minimum wage during a ceremony at Beth-Anne Life Center Monday, Dec. 18, 2006, in Chicago. With the governor are State Sen. Kimberly Lightford (4th District), left in red, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, right, and Chicago Alderman Emma Mitts (37th Ward), right. The new law will increase the minimum wage to $7.50 per hour in July 2007 and to $8.25 an hour by 2010. Nearly 650,000 workers are expected to enjoy higher wages as a result of the new law.

TODAY: (Updated 4:26 p.m.) CHICAGO — Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a $1-an-hour minimum wage increase into law Monday, then pledged to try again to tie future increases to the cost of living.

   More than 200 — including Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, U.S. reps. Rahm Emanuel and Danny Davis and Chicago aldermen — attended the signing ceremony at Bethel New Life Church on Chicago's West Side.

   Starting July 1, 2007, Illinois businesses will be required to pay most workers at least $7.50 an hour. That will be followed by three 25-cent increases, bringing the minimum to $8.25 an hour in 2010.

   Advocates estimate 308,000 Illinoisans now make less than $7.50 an hour and will benefit directly from the increase. Slightly more people probably will get raises, even though they make a little above $7.50.

   Dora Diane Elliott, a nursing home worker in Jacksonville, Ill., said the raise ``will help me a lot.''

   Elliott, 52, works two jobs to make ends meet: full-time at the nursing home, and at night caring for the elderly in their homes. Because of the raise, she will be able to ``maybe slow down just a little bit,'' and spend more time with her dog, Ruby, and family and friends.

   When asked whether an extra $40 for a 40-hour work week would matter much to most people, Blagojevich was adamant: ``Forty bucks a week makes a big difference when you have $40 in your pocket when you didn't have it before,'' he said.

   Someone working 40 hours a week at the current state minimum of $6.50 makes $13,520 a year, significantly less than the federal poverty level for a family of three — $16,600.

   At $7.50 an hour, that worker will make $15,600. At $8.25, the total reaches $17,160.

   The law differs slightly from what Blagojevich first proposed.

   The Democrat originally wanted to link the minimum wage to inflation, so it would increase every year. He also sought to end the practice of letting businesses pay 50 cents less than the state minimum to workers younger than 18.

   Both proposals were dropped in a concession to business groups.

   But Blagojevich pledged Monday to go back to Springfield and push for a built-in cost of living increase, saying it should not be tied to the whims of politicians.

   Emanuel and Davis said they will push for an increase in the federal minimum wage, and Emanuel called it the ``right thing to do.''