Raising Hope Along With Wages

The General Assembly in Springfield recently voted to increase the minimum wage in Illinois. This is legislation that is long overdue and I applaud some of our local legislators for recognizing that hard working people cannot afford to live on substandard wages. Area legislators Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia and Sen. John Millner are to be commended for their "Yes" votes on this issue.

Leading the local "No" votes, unsurprisingly, is Sen. Chris Lauzen. It is unfortunate that some legislators are so out of touch with the real and urgent needs of their less affluent constituents.

There are some who will argue that raising the minimum wage will hurt the very workers that are intended to benefit from increased wages. There is very clear evidence that disputes that position. In Illinois alone, raising the minimum wage in 2004 and 2005 did not hamper the economy. In fact, job growth grew and unemployment fell.

Research over the past decade actually shows that modest hikes to keep the low-paid abreast of inflation will cost few if any jobs. Raising the federal minimum wage in 1997 did nothing to slow down the amazing period of job creation and economic expansion that was a hallmark of the 1990’s.

At the national level, even some long time opponents of raising the minimum wage have has a change of heart including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

Raising the minimum wage in Illinois is the right thing to do for our hard working citizens, both on an economic level, but more importantly, on a moral level.

Frank Craig