Chicago

Minimum Wage Rises in Cook County, Chicago Saturday

For workers in Chicago and Cook County, Saturday was a noteworthy day as the minimum wage increased at both the city and county levels.

In Cook County, the minimum wage increased to $10-per-hour, in accordance with an ordinance passed last October. For tipped workers, the base wage will be $4.95-per-hour, according to the county.

The new wage will last for one year, and then will increase by a dollar on July 1, 2018. For tipped workers, the minimum wage will be adjusted based on inflation, and will be announced on June 1 next year.

That increase did not take effect in every city and village however, as numerous towns opted out of the measure. Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Skokie, and Oak Lawn all opted out of the ordinance according to WBEZ, meaning that their minimum wage will remain at the state-mandated level of $8.25-per-hour.

However, several more cities and villages in the county flirted with the idea of opting out, including Evanston and Oak Park, but both ended up sticking with the increase after votes in the lead-up to the July 1 effective date.

For workers in Chicago, the wage will climb even higher. Within city limits, the wage increased by 50 cents to $11 per hour, the third such increase under an ordinance passed in Dec. 2014. The minimum wage for tipped workers increased to $6.10 per hour, with the city announcing the inflation-based increase earlier this year.

The minimum wage will climb $1-per-hour in each of the next two years, peaking at $13-an-hour in 2020. After that, any future wage increases will be based on inflation. 

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