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Illinois' minimum wage hits $8 in July
Posted Online: June 27, 2009, 8:01 pm
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By Kevin Lee, Sng2@springnet1.com, Dawn Neusses, dneusses@qconline.com
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SPRINGFIELD- Acacia Klotz said she did not know what she would be paid at the Burger King in Ottawa when she started working as a cashier and a food preparer a week and a half ago. The 20-year-old Marseilles resident, who is paid minimum wage, was just glad to have a job. But Klotz was also happy to hear that beginning July 1, she will be receiving 25 cents more per hour. Workers like Klotz will be the beneficiaries of a raise in the state"s minimum wage from $7.75 to $8.00. While some employers have planned for the increase, others don't like it at all. The increase is part of a 2006 law signed by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich that incrementally raises the minimum wage until 2010. With this year"s increase, Illinois will have the fourth-highest hourly minimum wage in the nation, behind Washington, Oregon and Vermont, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The state"s department of labor estimates the increase will affect 400,000 minimum-wage workers. For a typical full-time worker, the raise equates to another $10 per week or $520 per year before taxes. Klotz, who works part time, said once she has earned enough money, she either wants to go back to school or start her own cleaning business with her sister. But she wanted to make sure that for the immediate future, her life is settled. For Klotz, that has meant moving in with her boyfriend and holding a job. "I told them give me as many hours as they could," she said. "They said they were going to try and move me to full time." The mandated wage increase comes at a time when the state"s unemployment rate reached 10.1 percent in May, the highest rate in more than 25 years, according to the state"s Department of Labor. State Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville, said a wage increase would harm business owners, especially owners of small businesses. "It"s going to definitely affect small businesses especially during this economic recession. The job creation isn"t going to be as strong," he said. "Somebody"s got to pay this 25-cent increase." Teske's general manager George Bingham said most of the starting workers and seasonal workers are paid minimum wage. The increase will not only affect the store in Moline, but also the one in Bettendorf as the company also voluntarily will raise the wage for its new hires and seasonal employees in Iowa, too. He said doing that is only fair, but does cost the company a lot of money. "It is not just this increase, but the one before that and the one before that. All of the raises have forced us to cut back on our staff. For our seasonal employees, we are now hiring one for every two we used to," Mr. Bingham said. He added the workers who have been with the company for years also want a bump in pay. "Talking with other managers out there with business similar to ours say the same thing — every time the minimum wage goes up everyone across the board wants their wage to go up, too." Teske's does gives raises to seasoned employees based on merit, he said. "This I consider another tax. Prevailing wage should be by market demand." State Rep. Lisa Dugan, D-Bradley, said a wage increase would help put more spending money into employees" hands, which would in turn help stimulate the economy. "I"m not sure that anybody can convince me that paying somebody a quarter more an hour is going to make or break a business," she said. Klotz said she could use the extra money to pay for gas and repair her car. Tasked with getting drive-in orders out within 45 seconds and preparing burgers and fries during busy lunch hours, she said she was still adjusting to the pace. "It"s back and forth. It"s not a set schedule. I don"t work all the same days, sometimes I work different hours," she said. "I"m just happy to be working, happy to be getting an income." The city of Moline planned for the increases and this year started seasonal employees at the higher rate before the July 1 date. Seasonal employees in Moline are hired to mow and do landscaping, for Riverside Aquatic Center and Greenvalley Park. They are hired to work anytime between April 1 to Oct. 31. "That is the way we've budgeted for years. We take the increase into account," said park and recreation director Laura Duran. "We don't hire them at $7.75 then bump them up in July to the higher rate. "We are already planning for 2010 when the rate will increase to $8.25," she said. Chris Panouses, owner of Uncle Pete's in Moline, said the increase won't affect his business, as he pays most of his employees, who have worked for him for years, above minimum wage. "But I believe it will directly affect us all when we go for gas or groceries," he said. "Those places will have to adjust their prices according to labor." Minimum wage rates in nearby states Minimum wage rates Federal: $6.55, going up to $7.25 on July 24 Kentucky: Follows federal wage level Indiana: Follows federal wage level Iowa: $7.25 Missouri: $7.05 Wisconsin: $6.50 Source: U.S. Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm 
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