By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
Chicago Tribune, Oct 26, 2016
Suburban Cook County has joined Chicago in adopting a $13 hourly minimum wage... The Cook County Board voted Wednesday to gradually raise the minimum wage to $13 by July 2020, following the legislation's approval Tuesday by the board's Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. The move, which comes more than a year after Chicago implemented the first phase of a minimum wage increase, adds Cook County to the growing list of government bodies seeking to help lift people out of poverty by raising the wages of the lowest-paid workers. ...
The first increase, to $10 an hour, takes effect July 1, 2017. The wage rises to $11 a year later and to $12 in July 2019. It hits $13 an hour in 2020, and subsequent annual increases will be at the rate of inflation, not to exceed 2.5 percent. The suburbs will be a year behind the city, which will reach $13 an hour by July 2019. ... The law applies to the entire county, including unincorporated areas. Home-rule towns can vote to opt out of the increase ...
David Borris, co-founder of Hel's Kitchen, a catering company in Northbrook with 45 full-time employees and 80 part-time and seasonal workers, said he doesn't pay anyone less than $11 an hour and expects to pay them even more to stay well above the county minimum.
Raising wages may require bumping up prices but it is good for broad economic growth because the money circulates, he said.
"We're business owners, we're supposed to adapt and react and respond and come up with creative thinking of how we deal with this," Borris said.
Copyright 2016 Chicago Tribune