By Jeff Arnold
Patch Illinois, Dec 27, 2022
As 2022 gives way to the new year, some workers across the state will see an increase in pay beginning next week. The state’s minimum wage rate is set to increase to $13 on Sunday ... Illinois is slowly moving toward a minimum wage of $15 per hour, which will take place on Jan. 1, 2025, after the rate of minimum wage jumps to $14 in 2024. ...
The minimum wage increase is expected to affect an estimated 510,400 workers in Illinois, or about 9 percent of the state's 5.7 million wage-earning workers, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. ... An estimated 381,400 children live in households affected by the wage hikes. They represent 13.2 percent of the children living in Illinois.
“Minimum wage increases are a great boost for the new year,” Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage said in a statement released on Tuesday. “These needed raises don’t stay in workers’ pockets. They energize communities, as workers and their families have more to spend at local businesses. Minimum wage raises also pay off in lower employee turnover, increased productivity and better customer service, which strengthens small business competitiveness." ...