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Effective January 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Illinois has increased. Illinois has joined several other states in increasing their minimum wage this 2023.
Minimum Wage Increase in Illinois
Effective January 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Illinois has increased from $12 to $13 per hour. For employees who receive tips, the rate has increased from $7.20 to $7.80. However, employees must still work for and make minimum wage before receiving tips, or else they are required to compensate. Employees under 18 who work less than 650 hours every year can also earn a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour now.
According to NBC Chicago, these increases In the minimum wage are part of the yearly increase programmed to carry on until 2025. In 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law that provided an increase in Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 per hour and $9 for tips. Since the bill was signed, the minimum wage has been increased four times, with the fifth starting just a few days ago.
In 2020, most residents of Illinois experienced an increase in minimum wage twice. The first was in January for $9.25, while the second was in July for $10. On January 1, 2021, the minimum wage increased again to $11 per hour. And on January 1 last year, the minimum wage increased yet again to $12 per hour. The minimum wage is expected to increase every January 1 until it reaches $15 per hour on January 1, 2025.
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Different Wage Rates In Some Parts of Illinois
However, Cook County and the city of Chicago, both of which are in Illinois, have their own minimum wage laws. Both are higher than the state of Illinois’ current minimum wage rate. In Cook County, the minimum wage last July 1 increased from $13 to $13.35 and from $6.60 to $7.40 for the tips. In Chicago City, the minimum wage last July 1 increased from $15 to $15.40 for large businesses and $14.50 for smaller businesses. For the tips, the rates increased to $9.24 for large businesses and $8.70 for smaller businesses, as reported by NBC Chicago.
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