Workers' Rights Opt-Out: Oak Park Mayor Calls Last-Minute Meeting

OAK PARK, IL — Oak Park Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb has called a special meeting to discuss opting out of Cook County's ordinance regarding minimum wage and sick days for workers. The session will take place just hours before the end of the fiscal year in Illinois. The meeting, which will take place at Village Hall at 123 Madison Street, was announced in a statement on the Village of Oak Park website.

Trustees will meet Friday at 5 p.m. to consider a 10-day opt-out of the ordinance. According to the agenda, this temporary opt-out will permit discussion from local business owners who are requesting a 90-day opt-out of the county's Minimum Wage and Sick Leave ordinance. The proposed temporary opt-out would begin July 1 and "allow for a community-wide discussion" with Oak Park businesses. The statement adds that "the Village is sensitive to calling a Special Meeting on a Friday evening; therefore this action only sets the date for Village Board discussion of the request by the business community and opts-out of the Cook County Ordinance until July 11,2017"

At 4 p.m., labor activists from Arise Chicago will hold a press conference and rally at Village Hall to discuss the effects of an opt-out with Oak Park workers and residents.

A release from the group's spokesperson, Shelly Ruzicka, noted the "limited public notice" of Oak Park's special session Friday. The press release adds, "Residents question if business-owner board members, including the mayor, should recuse themselves from voting during this special session since their participation may be a conflict of interest."

Mayor Abu-Taleb did not immediately respond a request for comment.

Image credit: By Bumby (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons