LGBT History, Minimum Wage: New Illinois State Laws Take Effect

SPRINGFIELD, IL — New Illinois laws take effect Wednesday increasing the minimum wage and gas tax, modifying when authorities can suspend someone's driver's license and requiring that LGBTQ history be taught in public schools.

Under state laws effective July 1, the minimum wage for non-tipped hourly workers increased to $10 an hour statewide. The minimum for tipped workers is $6 per hour. It is due to increase by another $1 per hour in January.

In Chicago, the minimum wage is $14 for workers at companies with more than 20 employees. For small companies and domestic workers it is $13.50. In the suburban communities of Barrington Hills, Berwyn, Countryside, Dolton, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Kenilworth, McCook, Northbrook, Northfield, Oak Park, Oak Brook, Phoenix, Skokie, University Park, Western Springs, Wilmette and Winnetka, the minimum wage is $13.

Drivers can now have their licenses suspended when their use of an electronic communication device leads to a serious injury. Motorists who cause such an injury after failing to yield at crosswalks and in school zones may also have their licenses suspended for a year, instead of being able to merely pay a fine.

But the secretary of state may no longer suspend their license merely for failing to pay a fine or traffic ticket.

Starting with the 2020-21 school year, the contributions and roles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people must be included in American history curriculum at Illinois public schools.

House Bill 246, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in August 2019, schools also adds the requirement that public school textbooks be non-discriminatory toward groups protected by the Illinois Human Rights Act.

A change to the definition of employer under the act, which protects people from discrimination on the basis of their race, religion, age, sex or gender identity, among other things, also took effect Wednesday, expanding the protections of the act to include those with fewer than 15 employees.

Another measure makes employees responsible for sexual harassment done by its contractors if they fail to take measures to stop it and disclose any harassment or discrimination settlements to state officials on an annual basis.

The state's gas tax, which was doubled last year to 38 cents per gallon, was increased by another 0.7 cents under a new mandatory formula linking the tax to the rate of inflation.

County and municipal taxes on recreational cannabis also took effect, providing a new revenue source of up to 3 percent of the recreational marijuana sold in the state legally for the past six months.

Legislative changes made in response to the coronavirus also took effect at the start of the month. Public meetings may officially be conducted remotely in times of public health emergency, and a bipartisan commission of lawmakers was convened to work on the state's response to the pandemic.

Earlier: 25 New Illinois Laws in 2020 That Could Impact Your Life