Lawmakers and advocates say workers who care for developmentally disabled residents should get a pay raise to comply with a federal court order.
Supporters of legislation raising the wage to $15 per hour say 34,000 "direct support professionals" make $9.35 currently.
A monitor declared in January that the state was out of compliance with a federal order that the state provide better care to developmentally disabled residents. The monitor said the state could not hire enough workers to maintain quality service.
It would cost $350 million to increase the wage to $15. There is a 50 percent federal match for each state dollar.
Democratic Rep. Robyn Gabel of Evanston and Democratic Sen. Heather Steans of Chicago say their legislation will have hearings this week.
