Illinois Governor Pat Quinn made a push to raise minimum wage when he met with President Barack Obama.
Quinn met with the president, Joe Biden, and senior administration officials at the White House on Friday, February 21, 2014 to talk about raising the minimum wage in Illinois and on the federal level.
The governor is pushing to raise Illinois’ minimum wage from its current $8.25 per hour to at least $10 per hour, according to a spokesperson from the governor’s office.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and Obama is pushing to raise it to $10.10.
Quinn argues that there are Illinois workers who are employed full-time but make wages that are under the Federal Poverty Threshold.
“Numerous studies have shown this common-sense proposal is good for workers and the economy,” said Quinn. “Raising the minimum wage is the right and decent thing to do and I thank President Obama for his leadership and commitment to getting this job done.”
Although Iowa lawmakers are pushing to raise their minimum wage, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said he’s not against it, but also wouldn’t say he’s for it, according to a report by WHO.
I want to wait and see what happens in the legislative process,” said Branstad. “I’ve always reserved judgment on these things until I see it.”
WHO reported that Branstad said he is focusing on bringing jobs into Iowa that would pay higher than the minimum wage.
Iowa’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour
According to the Department of Labor, the State of Washington stands with the highest minimum wage rates in the country at $9.32 per hour. Wyoming has the lowest at $5.15 per hour. If Illinois’ minimum wage increased to $10 it would be the highest in the country.