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$15 minimum wage heads to Illinois governor's desk, gets praise, backlash

The state of Illinois is on the verge of almost doubling its minimum wage.

BELLEVILLE, Ill. — The state of Illinois is on the verge of almost doubling its minimum wage.

"It's gonna just blow things out of the water," said Sandy Schoenborn the owner of the Lincoln Theater on Main Street in Belleville.

She said a bill to raise Illinois' minimum wage from $8.25 to $15 will only hurt the business she's worked so hard for.

“If the price of wages go up and the price of everything goes up, what have you accomplished? I don’t know? ” Schoenborn said.

As it is written now, Senate Bill 1 would raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 over a five-year period. It will essentially add a dollar to the wage every January until 2025.

RELATED: House sends $15 minimum wage to Gov. Pritzker

"I'm not opposed to having the minimum wage increased, but I think they kinda lose the point. That minimum wage is a starting point. That's where you go when you first just start a job," Schoenborn said.

But if you ask Brian Diser the fight for $15 could not have come sooner.

"It's past due and with the way minimum wage is now, a full-time worker can barely support themselves."  

Diser said it's time Illinois follows the example of other states.

Missouri raised its minimum wage in 2018. It will gradually increase to $12 an hour by 2023. It is currently $8.60 an hour. 

Republicans complained the increase is too steep and happens too fast. They said businesses will raise prices and cut jobs or even close.

"I think that's always businesses' answer. There's never going to be a justification of now we can afford to pay this because if you're a small business owner it's coming out of your pocket," said Diser.

Business groups want a tiered minimum wage with lower base levels in parts of the state with lower costs of living.

The bill still has one more step before it becomes law.

The governor has to sign it, and Governor J.B. Pritzker has indicated that he will sign it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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