Question of the day
Friday, Oct 28, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Progress Illinois…
Suburban Cook County’s minimum wage is set to increase to $13 an hour under legislation approved Wednesday by the board of commissioners.
The hourly minimum wage will gradually increase from $8.25 to $13 by 2020. The city of Chicago has already approved an increase in the minimum wage, which will grow to $13 by 2019.
The People’s Lobby was among the groups pushing for a Cook County minimum wage hike.
“Today’s vote is a tremendous victory for working people,” said Pascal Brixel with The People’s Lobby. “It will give 200,000 people a desperately needed raise, and, when fully implemented, it will put almost $10,000 more dollars a year in the pockets of full-time, minimum wage workers.
* Daily Herald…
Leaders of several Northwest suburbs said they’ll consider opting out of a measure gradually increasing the minimum wage in Cook County to $13 an hour by 2020. […]
Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said that as the local government overseeing the nation’s largest industrial park, his village board intends to thoroughly consider both the minimum-wage law and another recently passed measure requiring most private employers throughout the county offer at least five days of paid sick leave a year to all employees.
Municipalities have until next July to decide whether to opt out.
* Daily Herald editorial…
How to solve a problem if you really care about the outcome:
Talk to the main players, build consensus, and go with an approach that’s effective and that most can live with.
How to approach a problem if you only care about how you look, not whether anyone’s actually helped:
Ignore the other players, push through a plan most of them oppose, claim credit for taking action, and make the others use time and money to undo what you’ve forced upon them.
The Cook County Board led by Toni Preckwinkle followed the second route in passing its policy requiring sick leave for all workers, with the likely result that few workers will get helped, more lawyers will make more money, and the Cook County Democrats who control the board will make political hay at the expense of the suburbs.
The county board followed the same pattern again on Wednesday when it voted to raise the minimum wage for the county. Once again, suburbs can opt out, potentially creating a wage patchwork across the county and possibly resulting in no actual minimum wage increase, except in scattered unincorporated areas.
The IMA released a statement blasting the wage hike.
* The Question: Do you agree or disagree with the Cook County Board’s decision to raise the minimum wage? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
customer survey
…Adding… Could it all eventually be moot? From a GOP county board member…
