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In Tuesday's general election, an overwhelming majority of Cook
County residents voted in favor of a ballot measure supporting the
governor's proposal to increase the minimum wage, while voters in
Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio passed minimum
wage referendums. Under terms of the proposed bill, the state's
minimum wage would rise by $1, to $7.50 per hour, beginning July 1,
2007. Beyond that date, the minimum wage would be indexed with the
annual rate of inflation, meaning that each year the minimum wage
would be adjusted based on the rate that the price of goods and
services increases. It has been estimated that the raise would
directly benefit 647,000 Illinois workers.
"A person who works hard all day should at least earn enough to
live on," Blagojevich said. "But that's not the reality for hundreds
of thousands of workers who are paid the minimum wage. We made a
difference in many of their lives when we boosted the minimum wage
to $6.50 an hour, but it's still not enough. I am asking the men and
women of the Illinois General Assembly to listen to the people who
put their trust in us, and I'm urging them to pass this bill during
this month's fall veto session. If this bill is passed, not only
would nearly 650,000 men and women who earn the minimum wage receive
a well-deserved pay raise, but moving forward, they would be able to
count on their wages increasing at the same pace that the cost of
groceries, utilities and housing increases."
Last month, Blagojevich and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley were
joined by members of the Illinois General Assembly, labor leaders
and other leaders in the fight for working families when the
proposed minimum wage bill was announced. The governor and mayor
have vowed to push for its passage during the upcoming fall veto
session so those Illinois citizens who need support the most will
benefit and be able to better support themselves and their families.
"The reason I think this bill should pass is because more and
more people, like me, are living paycheck to paycheck because the
cost of living, gas prices, food, everything is rising in price,
except for the minimum wage," said Rochelle Harbour, a cashier at
the Bethalto BP station. "If everything around us keeps rising in
prices and the minimum wage does not, there will be a lot more
homeless people in Illinois. Hopefully the legislators will do the
right thing and pass this bill, so that people in Illinois can get
back on their feet and make a better living for themselves."
"The most important part of the governor's plan to me is that the
minimum wage will increase every year," said Patience Schauer, a
27-year-old teacher for Therapy Center of Southern Illinois
preschool in Carterville. Schauer makes $7.52 an hour and has
expensive medical bills. "Having the minimum wage increase
automatically each year will help me keep up with increases in the
price of rent, utilities, food and gas, and help me pay off my
medical bills," she said.
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Blagojevich fought for and signed legislation raising the minimum
wage in 2003 from the federal level of $5.15 an hour to $6.50 an
hour (the federal minimum wage remains at $5.15). While that
difference meant an additional $1.35 an hour, or an extra $2,808 a
year for a full-time worker, earning the minimum wage still means
earning only a total of $13,520 a year. That means the current
minimum wage annual salary represents only 67.6 percent of the 2006
federal poverty level for a family of four ($20,000) and is just
above the threshold for a single parent with one child ($13,200).
The increase to $7.50 an hour will result in a pre-tax gross income
of $15,600, an additional $2,080. According to a paper published
in October of 2006 by the Economic Policy Institute, minimum wage
earners have seen their purchasing power jump erratically as
politicians have chosen to raise or hold the wage independent of
inflation. Today states such as Florida, Washington, Oregon and
Vermont have indexed the minimum wage to inflation. Their minimum
wage workers don't feel their purchasing power diminish as they wait
for another increase, and the states' inflation has not skyrocketed
as critics predicted.
The Economic Policy Institute also stated that approximately
144,000 of Illinois workers who would benefit directly from the
minimum wage increase are working parents. Increasing their wages
would help boost the standard of living for 269,000 Illinois
children.
In addition, despite predictions from opponents of the minimum
wage that its increase would harm the economy, since the higher wage
took effect, Illinois has added more than 151,000 new jobs since
January 2004, which is more than any other state in the Midwest,
according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau also
reports that the unemployment rate has fallen from 6.7 percent in
January 2003, when the fight for the higher minimum wage began, to
4.4 percent today, which is below the national average and at its
lowest level since October 2000. Illinois has led the nation in job
growth twice this year, in April and July, which has never happened
before in recorded history. Illinois has also been named by Site
Selection Magazine as the third-best state in the nation for
attracting new and expanded corporate facilities. In addition, Inc.
magazine recently named Blagojevich as the second-best governor in
the nation for fiscal policy, and he was named the top governor for
health care policy.
If Blagojevich's proposed legislation to increase the minimum
wage passes, Illinois would be one of six states -- joining
Washington, Oregon, California, Connecticut and Massachusetts --
with a minimum wage of $7.50 or greater in the year 2007.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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