It is Unlikely That $13 per Hour Will Be Coming to Oak Forest

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On November 6th, 2018 Oak Foresters went to the polls and voted for a menagerie of state and federal candidates for various government positions. Included in the ballot was a hopeful referendum. It asked: Shall the minimum wage in your municipality match the $13 per hour Cook County minimum wage law for adults over the age of 18 by July 1, 2020, and be indexed to the consumer price index after that?

I was delighted to see this referendum and checked the YES box exuberantly, seeing that I have 3 teenagers in my household that would definitely benefit from a increase in the minimum wage. The problem is, this referendum was informational only. It was just a question posed to Cook County residents to check the pulse of their constituents. And the results were clear. 84.4% voted an overwhelming yes. So what does this mean for Oak Forest residents? I hate to say it, but probably nothing.

In October of 2016, Cook County passed a new minimum wage law that would go into effect as of July 1, 2017. As of that date, the minimum wage became $10 per hour in Cook County, going up a dollar every year until 2020 when it would reach $13. After that, the minimum wage will be adjusted to the rate of inflation, not to exceed 2.5%. According to the law, as of July 1st, 2019, the minimum wage in Cook County will be $12 an hour. Cook County is on the heels of Chicago whose minimum wage goes up to $13 an hour on July 1 of this year.

There is some bad news though for workers in Oak Forest, none of this applies to you. Inside the new minimum wage law, there is an opt out feature for municipalities that have “home rule”. The Home Rule clause states that any city with 25,000 residents can opt out and I am sorry to report, Oak Forest opted out along with 80% of cook county cities. The Illinois minimum wage right now stands at $8.25 an hour and employers of Oak Forest are bound only by this.

Of course, Oak Forest can opt in. Wilmette is the latest city to opt into the minimum wage increase sighting the "wage increase is long overdue and that workers cannot survive on the current minimum wage of $8.25 an hour" according to an article in the Chicago Tribune.

“I can support minimum wage because the minimum wage of $8.25 is too low and hasn’t been increased in eight years,” said trustee Kathy Dodd, who voted for the minimum wage ordinance. “I do believe our workers in this community deserve more."

Melanie Gangolf can be found on Facebook.