Rauner vetoes state bill to raise minimum wage to $15

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday vetoed a minimum wage measure that would have hiked the state's hourly rate to $15 by 2022.

The current minimum wage is $8.25. But under the measure, workers 18 and over would have seen their wages jump in periodic increments over 5 years. The bill also included a tax credit to protect small businesses with 50 employees or less.

The governor in his veto message said that helping individuals get out of poverty is a top priority but "mainstream economic theory and mainstream economic evidence strongly suggest that an increase in the minimum wage of this magnitude will hurt the very individuals it seeks to help."

The measure was opposed by business groups such as the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Technology and Manufacturing Association.

The bill's House sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, had argued that workers aren't able to make ends meet while big corporations are reaping the benefits.

After the measure passed the Illinois House on May 30, the governor's office said he was in support of increasing the minimum wage "as long as other structural reforms" were in place to bring down the regulatory burden on businesses.

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