*Update* ABC Channel 20 and NBC Channel 17 in Springfield covered Action Now members rallying outside of the Capitol Building on Wednesday, November 28th demanding a raise in the minimum wage!
Click here for ABC video & click here for NBC video
It’s veto session in Springfield, which means it is a crucial time to pass the bill to raise the minimum wage, Senate Bill 1565. 
Please call and email your Illinois Senator and Representative and tell them to pass a minimum wage increase during veto session!
Click here to send a petition letter directly to your State Senator and Representative.
Click here to find your legislators and their phone numbers by entering your address.
We have been told by politicians and business lobbyists for years that it is not the right time to increase the minimum wage, but we know that the working poor can’t wait any longer for a raise! The minimum wage is in Illinois is currently $8.25, which is not enough to live on. A hardworking American with a full-time job should not be in poverty!
It is unjust that CEOs of big businesses are making thousands of dollars an hour, but they refuse to pay their workers a decent wage. Right now, the minimum wage doesn’t mean “the minimum amount needed to live.” It means “the minimum amount that rich corporations can get away with paying.”
Below are links to recent articles & studies about why the minimum wage should be increased (feel free to send these to your legislators as well):
Huffington Post, “Minimum Wage, the Poverty Trap, and America’s Imperative” by Sanjay Sanghoee
A new report, “Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends” by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, highlights growing income inequality in each state (Illinois is in the top ten) and recommends raising the minimum wage
Crain’s Chicago, “Income gap widening fast in Illinois, new report says” by Greg Hinz
A new report, “Retail’s Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Overall Economy” by Demos
Huffington Post, “Why Walmart and Big Retailers Should Pay Their Workers More” by Bob Herbert
New York Times, “The Twinkie Manifesto” by Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman
Click the images below for full-sized infographics:
Inequality in Illinois
Retail’s Hidden Potential
