CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A proposal to eliminate Illinois’ subminimum wage for workers who earn tips has put two members of the Chicago City Council at odds with the head of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA).
In 2023, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) sponsored an ordinance that will require all workers in Chicago to receive at least the full minimum wage in addition to any tips they earn.
Now, Ramirez-Rosa said he and Fuentes have sent a letter to state lawmakers in which they implored them to make a similar change at the state level.
“If the state of Illinois fails to act, it means that, five years down the line, workers in Chicago in restaurants will be making much more than in localities just around the city of Chicago and across the state of Illinois, and that will make it harder for those restaurants in the suburbs and across the state to attract the workforce that they need.”
IRA President Sam Toia said the law isn't needed because Illinois already requires employers to make up the difference when tips aren't enough to bring a worker's total pay up to the full minimum wage.
Ramirez-Rosa has claimed that this law doesn't always work.
“Restaurant workers are more likely to live in poverty; they’re more likely to be victimized by wage theft,” he said. “If you are a tipped restaurant worker, you only get 60% of the minimum wage, and in theory, your tips are supposed to make up the rest, but for too many restaurant workers that’s not the case.”
Toia, though, said eliminating the subminimum wage for workers who earn tips would increase costs for consumers and businesses and would actually threaten thousands of jobs in Illinois.
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