Blagojevich signs $1-an-hour minimum wage increase into law

CHICAGO -- For nursing home worker Dora Diane Elliott, the $1-an-hour minimum wage increase Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed into law Monday is more than just a few extra bucks in her pocket.

It's a chance for a break from the 15-hour days she works, including at a second job caring for the elderly in their homes at night.

"Maybe slow down just a little bit," said Elliott, 52, of Jacksonville, Ill., who says she might be able to cut down to 10-hour work days.

Starting July 1, Illinois businesses will be required to pay most workers at least $7.50 an hour. That will be followed by three 25-cent increases, bringing the minimum to $8.25 an hour in 2010.

This is the second time Blagojevich has raised Illinois' minimum wage. Next year, more than two dozen states and the District of Columbia will have minimum wages that surpass the federal level of $5.15 an hour .

But U.S. Reps. Rahm Emanuel and Danny Davis predicted that soon could change with Democrats poised to take control of Congress in January.

Representatives of Illinois' business community have said a minimum wage increase should happen at the federal level so Illinois is on a level playing field with other states.

But even if Congress raises the federal minimum wage, it's unlikely lawmakers will go as high as Illinois, with its law that hits $8.25 an hour in about three years.

"I think it could be perceived as a strike against doing business in Illinois," said Illinois Chamber of Commerce president Doug Whitley.

Still, Blagojevich promised Monday to do more. He pledged to try again to tie future minimum wage increases in Illinois to the cost of living.

The law Blagojevich signed differs slightly from what he first proposed. The Democrat originally wanted to link the minimum wage to inflation, so it would increase every year. He also sought to end the practice of letting businesses pay 50 cents less than the state minimum to workers younger than 18.

Both proposals were dropped in a concession to business groups.

Blagojevich said he would push again for a built-in cost of living increase, saying the fate of working people should not be tied to the whims of politicians.

Someone working 40 hours a week at the current state minimum of $6.50 makes $13,520 a year, significantly less than the federal poverty level for a family of three -- $16,600.

At $7.50 an hour, that worker will make $15,600. At $8.25, the total reaches $17,160.

Advocates estimate 308,000 Illinoisans now make less than $7.50 an hour and will benefit directly from the increase. Slightly more people probably will get raises, even though they make a little above $7.50.

Blagojevich said he knows the extra $40 for a 40-hour week in this latest minimum wage bump will matter to people.

"Forty bucks a week makes a big difference when you have $40 in your pocket when you didn't have it before," he said.