Constitutional amendments win approval

With 90 percent of the vote counted, two proposed constitutional amendments were earning the support of Illinoisans by wide margins Tuesday, one protecting voters' rights and another increasing crime victims' involvement in the law enforcement process.

A majority also was indicating strong support, in advisory votes, for increasing the minimum wage, hitting millionaires with an income tax surcharge to pay for schools, and requiring in-state insurance plans to cover birth control.

The voters' rights amendment, which was winning with more than 70 percent of the vote, was a Democratic response to actions in three dozen states in recent years led by Republicans to require voters to show proof of identification.

Crime victims would be allowed to have a bigger role in prosecutions under the second constitutional amendment, which also garnered more than 70 percent of the vote.

The other ballot questions were advisory only.

Nearly 70 percent of voters favored raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour from $8.25 by 2015.

The so-called millionaires tax had the support of 64 percent of voters.

And the contraceptive-coverage question, which had 66 percent approval, responded to the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that craft-store chain Hobby Lobby is not required to pay for birth control.