Chicago set to raise minimum wage to $13

Fast food workers strike in downtown Chicago to advocate for better living wages, April 24th 2013.
Photo: chris dilts (Flickr)

Chicago is likely to be the next city to raise its minimum wage, with its city council voting Tuesday on an increase supported by Mayor Rahm Emanuel:

The mayor’s revised minimum wage ordinance would raise the hourly minimum wage in Chicago each year in July, starting with an increase to $10 next year. It would then go up to $10.50 in 2016, $11 in 2017, $12 in 2018, and $13 in 2019.After 2019, the city’s minimum wage would go up each year at a rate equal to the rise in the Consumer Price Index. […]

Workers who backed the mayor’s plan said it’s too expensive to live in Chicago earning the current minimum wage. Some said the mayor’s plan isn’t good enough, noting it would only raise the minimum hourly wage for tipped workers – like bartenders and restaurant wait staff – from $4.95 to $5.95.

Chicago’s planned $13 an hour is below the standard set by Seattle and San Francisco, which are on their way to $15, but would still be among the nation’s highest minimum wages. Of course, we are talking about a nearly five-year phase-in period, during which time the value of $13 will likely decrease. Still, this is fantastic news for Chicago’s minimum wage workers—and another sign of the momentum behind minimum wage increases.