labor lawAdivision of labor law center

On July 1, 2009 the Illinois minimum wage will increase from $7.75 to $8.00 per hour.

Many employers complain that this puts the Illinois minimum wage the highest in the nation – but they are very wrong. In fact, the new rate puts Illinois in a four-way tie for the fourth highest minimum wage, with California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

The nation’s highest minimum wage is in Washington, at $8.55 per hour. The second highest minimum wage is in Oregon, at $8.40 per hour.  The Vermont minimum wage is currently $8.06 per hour. All three of those states – unlike Illinois – have annual cost-of-living increases.

On July 1, the Illinois minimum wage will become $8 an hour, a boost of 25 cents from the previous hourly rate of $7.75.

Minimum wage increases come on July 1 of the year in Illinois, while the federal rate changes on July 24. The 2009 federal minimum wage increase to $7.25 per hour

In 2010, the Illinois rate goes up another 25 cents an hour, bringing it to $8.25.

In 2003, the minimum wage in Illinois went from $5.15 to $5.50 an hour, (more…)