Proposed bill passed the Illinois Senate that would raise minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.

The Illinois Senate agreed to a gradual hike in the minimum wage over the next six years; hourly wage having been stalled at $8.25 an hour since 2010.  The phasing-in would increase hourly wage to $9.25 on 1/01/2020, to $10 on 7/01/2020, then increases $1 an hour each January thereafter until reaching $15 in 2025.  Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford introduced the bill and proposes a with-holding tax credit for employers with 50 or fewer employees to offset their costs; a 25 percent tax credit in 2020, then scaling back annually, phasing-out by 2026.  The bill goes to the Illinois House which has a Democratic majority.  Governor J.B. Pritzker has indicated that he would sign the bill, and stated he is “committed to enacting a balanced budget  to ensure children, families, small businesses, public colleges and universities, and community-based organizations have the resources they need to give their workers a raise”.   (A current National report reveals that 7 million-plus Americans are 90-days behind in car-loan payments and other bills, as inflation steadily climbs.  We need fundamental change NOW — a huge tax cut for the poor and middle-class, not the billionaires!  Experts say we are heading for another big economic crash!)

Trish Forsyth Voss