Dec. 02--A key state senator said Tuesday she is working out a deal with House Speaker Michael Madigan on a statewide minimum wage increase that could be voted on by lawmakers Wednesday.
Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, said the new version is still being drafted but would raise the state's minimum wage to $9 an hour July 1. The rate would increase by 50 cents an hour each year until 2019, when the wage would reach $11 an hour.
Lightford said the bill would nullify Chicago's home rule authority so the city's wage could not be increased above $13 an hour -- meaning the cost-of-living adjustments included in the ordinance the Chicago City Council passed Tuesday would not go forward.
The state measure also would include tax credits to benefit restaurants and retailers.
"This bill would do a little bit of what the House wants and little bit of what we want," Lightford said. "It's taking into consideration everybody. It's one of those that nobody loves, but how can you hate it, right? Because everybody gets some of their concerns addressed.
"The actual workers will benefit, and that's who I advocate for," Lightford said.
If the Lightford-Madigan measure were to become law, there would be two minimum wages in Illinois: one in Chicago, and another for the rest of the state.
The Chicago City Council on Tuesday voted 44-5 to approve a plan to raise the city minimum wage to $13 an hour by July 2019. The rate in Chicago would go to $10 an hour July 1 -- $1 more than the new proposed statewide rate in the Lightford-Madigan proposal.
mcgarcia@tribpub.com
