Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that Chicago’s minimum wage has increased to $10.50 an hour Friday.
City Council olverwhelmingly approved a 2014 ordinance that will incrementally raise the city’s minimum to $13 per hour in 2019.
“Today marks another step for people across Chicago by making sure hard work is rewarded with higher pay,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Because earning the minimum wage should not mean minimal opportunities for Chicago’s families."
"Anybody who works in the City of Chicago should be able to afford to live and raise a family here,” Emanuel added.
According to the mayor’s office, roughly 270,000 Chicagoans will receive a raise Friday. It’s estimated that by 2019 the wage bumps will have brought hundreds of thousands out of poverty and added $860 million to the city’s economy.
Last year, the city's minimum wage was raised from $8.25 to $10. In July of next year the minimum wage will increase to $11, then $12 in 2018 and $13 in 2019.
Chicago is among a group of major cities giving minimum wage employees a raise, including Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco.
