Analysis: $15 minimum wage no windfall for Illinois workers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois House could vote on a plan this week to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, but inflation will largely negate the impact by the time the pay floor reaches that level in 2025.

House approval would send it to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who wants to sign it into law immediately.

The plan would bump the base wage from $8.25 per hour to $15 in stages by 2025 . Four other states and Washington, D.C. already require a $15 minimum wage or will before Illinois.

But it’s no windfall for more than 1 million Illinois workers who rely on the minimum wage. An Associated Press analysis found that assuming the current 2.1 per cent rate of inflation, by 2025, $15 will only be worth $10.46 .