Niles Trustees Vote To Opt Out Of County Minimum Wage, Sick Leave Rules

UPDATE: Wednesday, 1:45 p.m.

Niles Village trustees voted 4-2 to exercise Home Rule authority to avoid having to follow impending Cook County minimum wage and sick leave regulations at a meeting Tuesday night.

After a hearing from members of the public on both sides of the matter, trustees George Alpogianis, Joe LoVerde, Denise McCreery and Dean Strzelecki all voted in favor of opting out of the rules requiring employers to offer earned sick leave raise the minimum wage to $10 immediately and gradually after that, according to Village of Niles spokesperson Mitchell Johnson.

Trustees John Jekot and Danette O'Donovan Matyas voted against the resolution and in favor of granting the increased wages and sick time to Niles workers. Mayor Andrew Przybylo also opposed the measure but would only have voted if it had been necesssary to break a tie, Johnson said.

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Original story

NILES, IL — Niles trustees are expected to vote Tuesday on whether to allow Cook County's minimum wage and paid sick leave ordinance to take effect on July 1.

A village committee has drafted local legislation to opt out of the county rules. A meeting to discuss the proposal is set for 6 p.m., followed by the regular village board meeting at 7 p.m.

Trustee George Alpogianis, owner of Kappy's American Grill in Morton Grove, is pushing to block the wage increase from taking effect, but Mayor Andrew Przybylo strongly supports enacting the new county regulations, the Journal & Topics has reported.

Local chambers of commerce have generally supported the moves to opt out, while labor groups have been organizing opposition on behalf of workers to convince suburban governments to keep the "Cook County Living Wage Ordinance."

65 percent of Niles voters supported a statewide minimum wage hike in a 2014 non-binding referendum. When the question of county-wide earned sick leave appeared on the 2016 ballot, more than 69 percent of voters in Niles chose "Yes," according to data provided by the Cook County Clerk's office.

Several north and northwest municipalities have already chosen to exercise their Home Rule authority to exempt themselves from the county law. According to a list prepared by the Village of Northbrook, they include Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bartlett, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rosemont, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Wheeling.

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Top photo | Niles Village Hall | Patch file