Wilmette Trustees Fully Opt Into Minimum Wage, Sick Leave Rules

WILMETTE, IL — Wilmette became the first municipality to fully opt into to Cook County's minimum wage and sick leave requirements in response to the results of a pair of Nov. 6 referendum. Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to remove conditions they placed earlier this year on the adoption of county minimum wage hikes and to make the mandate on employers to provide earned sick leave for most workers effective in March.

The village board voted in June 2017 to opt out of the county's rules, along with more than 100 other Cook County municipalities with Home Rule authority. Trustees convened a working group to study the impact of the ordinances in more detail and get feedback from businesses and the community and residents continued organizing in support of the ordinances, some with the group Wilmette Justice Team.

The working group produced a 436-page report in April. In June, the village decided to conditionally opt in to the minimum wage ordinance. The change came into effect in October and included provisions that would return the minimum wage to the state minimum of $8.25 per hour under certain conditions.

Before the November 2018 election, supporters of the county rules cited results from a 2014 advisory referendums to support their call for a higher wage floor and paid sick leave. But in that case, voters were asked if they supported statewide implementation of the higher wage and sick leave. Opponents pointed out the Cook County ordinances were significantly different than the statewide increase, especially for municipalities near the edges of the county line. So the architects of the minimum wage and sick leave referendum placed a question on the ballot asking voters directly.

"Shall the minimum wage in your municipality match the $13 per hour Cook County minimum wage law for adults over the age of 18 by July 1, 2020, and be indexed to the consumer price index after that," it asked. A separate question about whether "your municipality" should "match the Cook County earned sick time law which allows for workers to earn up to 40 hours (5 days) of sick time a year to take care of their own health or a family member's health," was also placed on the ballot.

According to the results of that non-binding countywide referendum, Wilmette residents voted 75-24 in favor of the minimum wage increase and 80-20 in favor of the county's sick leave rules. Village President Bob Bielinski said at least two thirds of voters had supported the measures in every precinct of the village in an election with a historically high turnout.

"Thanks to the extensive public discussion of this subject in Wilmette during 2017 and 2018, and the comprehensive report of the working group, Wilmette residents are better engaged on this issue than anywhere else in Cook County. The Nov. 6 referenda correctly and accurately reflected the county's ordinances and were both approved overwhelmingly Wilmette voters," Bielinski said. "I believe that the village's through and thoughtful review of this subject for the past two years obviates the need for additional examination and that we should implement the results of the November referenda expeditiously."

Municipalities with Home Rule authority may exercise it at any time to opt in or out of one or both of the Cook County ordinances, but local officials may not amend them.

"Given the mechanics of this, our authority is to opt in or opt out," Bielinski said. "We can't change it to make it the way we want it to be. It's all or nothing.

The Wilmette Chamber of Commerce requested a six-month delay to the implementation of a change to sick leave requirements. Bielinski offered an amendment to provide businesses with about 90 days notice, so the changes will take effect in March.

According to a show of hands among attendees at the Nov. 27 village board meeting, 17 people were in favor of the labor rules and five people opposed them. Several spoke during its public comment portion.

John Haser, a Wilmette business owner who was a member of the village's working group on the ordinances, said the sick leave portion was especially problematic for small business.

"I'm going to see more stores that are going to be shuttered. This is going to affect small businesses. It's not going to affect Jewel. It won't affect Walgreens," but it would have a negative impact on many local small businesses, Haser said. "They're not going to hire as many people as they would and they are also not going to have the service that you would hope to get."

Betsy Hart, of the group New Trier Neighbors, told trustees they should be "ashamed" for passing the ordinance. She read a statement from the group questioning the significance of the results of a non-binding referendum.

"Why do we need the board to make decisions at all? Why not just hold regular plebiscites on issues?" Hart said. "If majority rules, and can literally vote away the rights of others to run their small and family businesses as they know best how to do, what can't the citizens of Wilmette decide by majority vote?"

Resident Paul Dauer said anyone who works in Wilmette does so voluntarily and could choose to quit or work somewhere else.

"The majority forcing other people to pay the difference – between the actual wage and the prescribed wage and the actual policy and the sick leave policy – is not proper. The people who voted for this referendum did not vote to pay for it themselves," Dauer said, unlike with referendums authorizing general obligation bonds. He proposed the village establish a mechanism whereby taxpayer money was used to subsidize businesses that would otherwise offer positions paying below the county minimum wage.

Cook County Commission Larry Suffredin, who represents Wilmette on the county board, authored the ordinances and the subsequent referendums. In a statement after the vote, he expressed gratitude to local advocates and thanked voters who said "yes" on the wage and sick leave questions.

“The referendum process and the dedication of Wilmette advocates led to this action tonight," Suffredin said. "These measures will have quite an impact on families.”

Jon Marshall, a member of the Wilmette Justice Team, thanked trustees for the vote to fully opt in.

"This vote will make a big difference in the lives of low-wage workers and their families. It means they will have a better chance to put food on their tables, afford decent housing and otherwise keep up with the rising cost of living," Marshall said. "It also means they won't feel forced to go to work when they are sick, or their children are sick, thus helping to protect the health of their families and the community as a whole."

Trustee Joel Kurzman, the sole vote on the board in favor of the county mandates from the start, said he was thinking about all the money workers would have spent in the community if they had gotten the wage increase earlier and all of the children that "had to go to school sick," as a result of the opt-out. He said his only reservation about the process was the vilage's failure to hear from minimum wage workers themselves for their point of view.

"I think we're blessed that in the village of Wilmette we have the ability to reach and care for all of our residents. When it comes to minimum wage workers or low wage workers the workgroup came to find that we have more than 1,300 low wage workers that comprise about 20 percent of our workforce. So I want to direct my comments to this group directly, and my message is simple: You have a friend at village hall," Kurzman said. "I've thought about you, I've cared about you and I've fought for you. I believe all working people regardless of their income level should feel welcome in the village of Wilmette and their contributions to our community should be appreciated and that's why I think this is both necessary and overdue."

Southwest suburban Western Springs opted in to the county rules in June. The Glenview Village Board will discuss changes to the rules in December. Northbrook trustees said they plan to reconsider their decision to opt out of the county regulations in May.

Related:

• Referendum Leads Towns To Reconsider Opt-Outs Of Wage, Sick Leave
• Wilmette Conditionally Adopts Higher Minimum Wage, Reversing Last Year's Vote
• Wilmette Board Sets Vote To Reconsider Cook County Minimum Wage
  
• Trustees Vote 6-1 To Reject Higher Minimum Wage, 5-2 Against Mandatory Sick Leave