Illinois Minimum Wage Set to Increase January 1
Illinois Minimum Wage Set to Increase January 1 (Springfield, IL) — The minimum wage in Illinois is increasing on January 1st, 2024.
Workers will see an increase of $1 per hour from $13 to $14. The minimum wage for tipped workers will rise to $8.40 per hour and youth workers (under 18) working fewer than 650 hours per calendar year will see their hourly wage increase to $12 per hour.
“Since day one as Governor, I’ve made it my mission to put Springfield back on the side of working families,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With this new minimum wage increase, we are once again making Illinois a more affordable and equitable place to live for all of our residents.”
“We’re continuing to not only strengthen our workforce but sustain it by increasing the minimum wage. Leadership matters and we’re proud to see our administration’s sixth increase go into effect on January 1,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “As we continue our work to make Illinois the best state to live, work and raise a family, this new increase brings us one step closer to a more equitable Illinois.”
This will be the sixth increase in the state’s minimum wage since 2019 when Governor JB Pritzker signed historic legislation establishing a schedule of increases culminating in a $15 per hour minimum wage in 2025.
“Nationally, minimum wage laws have not kept pace with the cost of living,” said Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan. “These wage increases have helped Illinois workers pay for the increasing costs of groceries, childcare and other everyday expenses. While many working families are still struggling, we celebrate that once again, on January 1st, workers will get a raise. We also continue to look for ways to make Illinois an even better place to work and live.”
Minimum wage workers are encouraged to review their paystubs in the new year to ensure they are being paid correctly. Workers in the City of Chicago are required to be paid at a higher rate, depending on the size of their employer.
Illinois Minimum Wage Set to Increase January 1
As dramatic rises in inflation have coupled with intentional yet too-often consistent hikes in interest rates over the past two-and-a-half years, this is not the time for the state to be imposing forced wage increases on businesses. In fact, they should not be doing this ever. But, their actions are methodical and calculating.
It’s unfortunate that many Americans have come to rely on expecting part-time low-to-no skills required jobs such as those in the retail or fast food sectors to provide enough for housing and daily living expenses. Those jobs were intended for high school or college students entering the workforce, or sadly, for retirees needing supplemental income.
The effects on this will be damaging. Entrepreneurs will no longer be able to afford employing workers, as higher paid out wages leads to paying higher taxes and forces them to increase product and service costs which will really cost them a loss in customers. Many small stores will move out of state or close entirely. Large corporations will replace workers with robotics or self-serve/self-checkout kiosks which have become more commonplace in recent years, or close select stores as well.
The workaround to this is not always easy. But it exists. And college is not for everyone. But, learning a high-demand skill or trade will take people far beyond the minimum wage. Yet, so many young people don’t want to work. It’s baffling.
The political playbook has become far too predictable these past several years as certain politicians continue to focus on destroying communities just to appease those who hand out the evil edicts. They intend to destroy the American way of life as they embrace the influx of those breaking our laws and invading our country by illegally crossing our borders and shores. Little do those newcomers realize that the politicians will use them as their pawns for their dirty schemes and deeds, and that they are more than expendable.
Welcome to the new backwards America.