Minimum Wage Hike Supporters Seek Action During Veto Session
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CHICAGO (CBS) -- With state lawmakers set to return to Springfield for three days of veto session later this week, and then again in early December, advocates for a higher minimum wage were urging the legislature to act on a measure to increase the minimum wage in Illinois to $10 an hour.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports supporters of a minimum wage hike cited the results of a question on the November ballot, when two-thirds of voters backed an advisory referendum asking "Shall the minimum wage in Illinois for adults over the age of 18 be raised to $10 per hour by January 1, 2015?"
At a news conference Tuesday morning in the Loop, minimum wage worker Gloria Davis presented herself as a living, breathing argument for state lawmakers to approve proposed legislation to raise the minimum wage in Illinois from $8.25 per hour to $10 per hour.
"Able-bodied, and more than willing to work, despite the fact that I have a job, and I get up every morning, I'm homeless," she said.
State Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), a lead sponsor of the proposed minimum wage hike, said she believes Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is ready to call the measure for a vote, but House Speaker Mike Madigan and the House are less of a sure bet.
"My two representatives are moving forward, willing to vote on it yes, excited to vote to give working families an opportunity; and I'm sure most of us senators [and] our colleagues in the House are also prepared to vote yes," she said.
Gov. Pat Quinn has said he'd like to see the minimum wage hike approved before he leaves office in January; but Governor-elect Bruce Rauner has urged lawmakers not to act on the minimum wage before he takes office, and not without also approving pro-business measures, such as changes to the state's workers' compensation laws, tax reductions, and caps on non-compensatory damages awarded in lawsuits.
