An effort to raise the minimum wage before Bruce Rauner takes office appears to be under way in Springfield.
State Senator Kimberly Lightford was pushing for a higher minimum wage long before it became a campaign issue this year.
The western Cook County Democrat wants to raise the minimum wage from 8.25-an-hour to 10.65 in the next two years. She says it’d be a good bill for Governor Pat Quinn to go out on, before Republican Bruce Rauner is sworn into office in January.
“I would hope that he would follow through and support a minimum wage initiative and leave a strong legacy behind as a governor who felt that those that actually work every day deserve not to live in poverty."
67 percent of Illinois voters said they approve raising the minimum wage on an advisory referendum on Tuesday’s ballot.
Governor-elect Rauner wouldn’t answer reporters’ questions on Thursday about his strategy if a higher minimum wage is passed before he takes office.
Legislators are scheduled to return to Springfield later this month.