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Democrat lawmakers in Springfield continue to impose new and costly mandates on Illinois employers.

Minutes ago, the Illinois House of Representatives narrowly passed a $15 per hour minimum wage that would apply to every business regardless of size.  passed on a vote of 61-53-2 and now heads to the Senate for consideration where Senate President John Cullerton has pledged a vote today or tomorrow before the spring session concludes. This represents a whopping 82 percent spike in the state's minimum wage and would make it the highest in the nation when fully phased in after five years.

Additionally, the Senate voted 31-17-0 this afternoon to impose a new paid leave mandate on all Illinois businesses.   mandates that every employer provide up to 5 paid days of leave to every employee annually and it now moves back to the House of Representatives for concurrence in the next two days.

These bills are politically-motivated measures designed to create a wedge issue in the coming 2018 gubernatorial election because they anticipate that Governor Bruce Rauner will veto these bills.  Between 2013-2016, Democrats occupied the Governor's mansion and held veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly but did not pass this type of legislation.  Rather than voting on a minimum wage bill, Speaker Michael J. Madigan put a minimum wage referendum on the statewide ballot in an unsuccessful effort to drive voter turnout.

Illinois continues to lose manufacturing jobs while our neighboring states are recovering from the recession and adding tens of thousands of new jobs.  For three years in a row, Illinois has had the dubious distinction of losing the largest number of residents who are fleeing Illinois for other locales.

The IMA strongly opposes both SB 81 and HB 2771 and will request a veto if they land on the Governor's desk. In the meantime, IMA members are requested to contact their lawmakers immediately to request NO votes on these bills.