November 16, 2006

Welcome to the NFIB/Illinois’ Capitol Roundup. Capitol Roundup is an e-mail newsletter on news being made at the Illinois Statehouse and on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C, as it happens. This e-mail is provided to our activist members who have shown an interest in promoting the voice of small business to state and federal policymakers. Capitol Roundup will appear regularly during legislative sessions.

The following information is a brief update on what happened in this week’s Veto Session. If you have access to the Internet please check out www.nfib.com/il - the section is updated regularly as new developments take place or legislation is introduced.

GOVERNOR PURSUES MINIMUM WAGE HIKE IN VETO SESSION

Governor Rod Blagojevich, elated after being elected to a second term to office, moved on his promise to raise the minimum wage to $7.50 this week.

SB 1275, sponsored by Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago), raises the Illinois minimum wage by $1 bringing it to $7.50 starting July 1, 2007. In addition, the legislation ties Illinois’ minimum wage to the urban Consumer Price Index and allows for annual, automatic increases in the wage. SB 1275 also removes a provision allowing for those under the age of 18 to make 50 cents less than the minimum wage.

The Senate moved very quickly on the issue, pushing the bill out of the Senate Labor committee on Tuesday, despite opposition from the NFIB and many other business groups.

NFIB/Illinois State Director Kim Maisch argued to the committee that small businesses are affected by the wage hike disproportionately and that the hike costs much more than an additional $1 per hour, citing all of the taxes and insurance costs that are based on wages. As well, she pointed to the fact that Illinois’ job growth has lagged well behind our neighboring states from 2003-2006, the same time Illinois had a higher minimum wage than those same states.

The bill passed the committee on a partisan roll call and was heard by the full Senate less than 12 hours later. Again, the full Senate vote fell largely along party lines with most Republicans voting “no” and all Democrats voting “yes.”

The fate of the minimum wage hike is less certain in the Illinois House. Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), while a supporter of minimum wage hikes in general, has said publicly he is inclined to wait and see what Congress does. Leaders in Congress, with a new Democrat majority, have said they will pursue a $7.25 federal minimum wage hike.

The Veto Session, which is held every fall to allow the General Assembly to override or accept any vetoes the Governor may have made in the spring legislative session, will meet again November 28-30.

Please take the time to call your state representative today and ask them to vote NO on the SB 1275. You may also go to www.nfib.com/il and use our CapWiz program, which allows you to find your lawmakers contact information and easily send him or her an email, letter or fax.

December 6 – The Rockford Area Action Council will hold a meeting on workers’ compensation at 6 p.m. on December 6 at the NIU Outreach Center located at 8500 East State Street in Rockford, Illinois. For information on AACs contact Mark Grant at 217-523-5471 or mark.grant@nfib.org.

For questions or comments on small-business issues contained in this edition of Capitol Roundup please contact Illinois State Director Kim Clarke Maisch in the NFIB/Illinois office at 217-523-5471, or via e-mail at mailto:%20kim.maisch@nfib.org