Pat Barcas/staff photographer
Gov. Pat Quinn spent time walking in Naperville’s Last Fling Labor Day parade. He’s on the campaign trail to announce he’s backing raising the minimum wage in Illinois as a way to drive economic growth.
By Pat Barcas
Staff writer
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014
Email Pat Barcas at pat@foxvalleylabornews.com
NAPERVILLE — No, the “Quinnochio” character wasn’t present at Naperville’s Last Fling Labor Day parade, but the Governor’s race is just as contentious as ever, with Gov. Pat Quinn kicking off the official campaign season with a challenge to survive on the minimum wage.
Quinn is living this week on $79, the amount a minimum wage worker would make in a week after housing costs, transportation and taxes. On Labor Day he called Republican challenger Bruce Rauner the most anti-worker gubernatorial candidate in Illinois history as he continues to paint Rauner as an out of touch billionaire.
Quinn is putting heavy stock that his backing of raising the minimum wage in Illinois will pay off. In June, Quinn signed a law to place a referendum question on the Nov. 4 ballot that asks voters if the state’s minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour, up from $8.25.
“He [Rauner] had firms that outsourced American jobs to foreign lands,” said Quinn. “I don’t think that’s what we need on Labor Day or any other day in Illinois. We need to raise the minimum wage and keep our jobs right here in our own back yard.”
Quinn’s camp says raising the minimum wage in Illinois is part of the Governor’s plan to drive economic growth, alleviate poverty and ensure all workers are treated fairly.
“Some of our hardest working men and women are living in poverty and that’s not right,” Quinn said. “You can’t raise a family on $17,000 a year. Every worker deserves a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. That’s why I won’t stop fighting until we get the job done for our workers.”
Pat Barcas/staff photographer
Members of Laborers’ Local 149 show their support for Gov. Pat Quinn.
Starting Aug. 31, Quinn will rely on the Illinois minimum wage, $79, to cover his food and other expenses through Saturday, Sept. 6.
By increasing the Illinois minimum wage to $10 an hour, a half-million Illinois consumers will make an extra $4,800 a year and much of that extra income will be spent at local businesses on food, clothing and furniture, providing a strong boost to the local economy.
Nearly two-thirds of small-business owners support raising the federal minimum wage because they believe it will help the economy and, in turn, enable them to hire more workers, according to a poll conducted by the Small Business Majority. Leaders from large companies such as Costco, Starbucks and Stride Rite also have supported increasing the minimum wage as a way to reduce employee turnover and improve workers’ productivity.