Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation Friday that would have raised his state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, up from its current level of $8.25, one dollar above the federal minimum. Rauner said the rate would not be the comprehensive solution needed to expand the economy and create jobs.
One bill sponsor, Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said he will seek an override of Rauner’s veto.
The $15 minimum wage movement began in Seattle-Tacoma when it adopted the rate in 2014, which boosted similar efforts in cities and states such as New York and California. The movement has slowed in the last year, though. Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh vetoed similar legislation for her city in March despite having campaigned on it previously. She said she worried it would harm the economy.
New research suggests such concerns may be well-founded. A June study by the University of Washington found that Seattle’s increase of its minimum wage to $13 an hour, part of the planned increase to $15, led to reduced employment for those workers and cut hours for those who kept their jobs. That undid the effects of the higher wages.
