WILMETTE – The Wilmette Village Board on June 27 joined the majority of Cook County suburbs and voted to opt out of two Cook County ordinances that raised the minimum wage and mandated paid sick leave.
In a board meeting that lasted past midnight, trustees elected to vote on each ordinance separately, voting 6-1 to opt out of the minimum wage ordinance, with Trustee Joel Kurzman voting in support of the ordinance. The board voted 5-2 to opt out of the sick leave ordinance, with trustees Kurzman and Stephen Leonard voting in support of the ordinance.
An ordinance was first introduced at the board’s June 13 meeting that opts out of Cook County Minimum Wage Ordinance No. 16-5768 and the Cook County Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Ordinance No. 16-4229.
The Cook County wage ordinance sets the minimum wage to $10 per hour, which will go up $1 per hour each year so that by July 1, 2020, the minimum wage will be $13 per hour. The minimum wage is set to CPI thereafter. The sick leave ordinance provides one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked, for employees who have worked at least 80 hours within a 120-day period, up to a maximum of 40 hours.
The Cook County ordinances only apply to the private sector and thus exclude all village, park district, library and school employees. The rules also do not apply to unionized employees.
The issue was raised at the prompting of the Wilmette/Kenilworth Chamber Commerce, which urged the village board to opt out of the Cook County ordinances before they take effect on July 1.
Village President Bob Bielinski reassured residents that the decision to opt out was not due to pressure from the Chamber of Commerce. “I am not doing anything for the chamber. I am doing it for the community. I am doing it for all of us,” Bielinski said.
This issue came to the forefront of town meetings across Cook County suburbs this spring. A total of 82 suburbs have opted out of the ordinances, with the vast majority casting those votes in May and June.
The board heard from numerous small business owners, residents, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Julie Yusim, and a representative of Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison against the wage and sick leave ordinances.
“The harsh truth is that the wage and sick leave ordinances will damage the future of Wilmette’s small businesses,” Yusim told the board. She noted that while Wilmette is a wealthy community, many small business owners in the town are not necessarily wealthy, and will bear the burden of these ordinances. Yusim also noted, however, that the majority of Wilmette businesses already pay over the minimum wage.
Chris Karabas, owner of The Rock House, explained to the board that he could not afford a minimum wage and sick leave ordinance.
“This is not about greed, trust me,” Karabas said, noting that he just does not have enough money. “The money is not there unless you want to have a $7 latte,” he said.
But plenty of Wilmette residents, as well as some small-business owners, spoke in support of both ordinances. Many referenced the voter referenda, where Wilmette residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of the wage ordinance by 70.7% in a November 2014 election and in support of the paid sick leave ordinance by 73% in a January 2016 election.
Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, a sponsor of the ordinances, said the wage and sick leave ordinances were passed to push the state to take action on these issues. “The most important thing we need to do is get the federal government and the state government to take up a minimum wage bill,” he said. Currently, a minimum wage bill is before Governor Bruce Rauner.
Allyson Haut, Wilmette resident and co-president of the Wilmette League of Women Voters, spoke in support of the ordinances. “A living wage and paid sick time reflect the values of the community where we live,” she said.
Others echoed those sentiments, urging the board to support the measures and saying Wilmette could be a beacon on the North Shore.
“I think it is important that we lead the way in providing adequate pay and sick leave,” Wilmette resident Amy Newman said.
But instead the board decided to vote against the ordinances, basing its decision primarily on a principal of law that wage and sick time mandates are state issues that should not be decided at a local level.
Concerns of the legality of the Cook County ordinances have been raised, although neither have been challenged in court. Whether Cook County has the authority to adopt the ordinances has been called into question by the Cook County State’s Attorney, an opinion that Wilmette’s attorney Jeffrey Stein also supports.
A large crowd attended the Wilmette board meeting considering the Cook County minimum wage and mandated paid sick leave ordinances.
President Bielinsky narrowly framed the issue before the village board. “Is this the right way to increase the minimum wage in Wilmette?” he asked.
Trustee Dan Sullivan answered that question succinctly. “It should be a statewide or federal mandate. I have a hard time supporting this because we are going to put Wilmette at a disadvantage,” he said, noting that the majority of Cook County suburbs have opted out.
Trustees Senta Plunkett and Kathy Dodd both supported opting out of the ordinances, with the caveat that the board address this issue in committee. By electing to opt-out before the ordinances are in affect on July 1, the village has the option to re-examine its position and essentially opt back into the ordinances.
“The fairest way to deal with this is at the state level, but that is not where we are tonight,” Trustee Dodd said. While Dodd said she supported raising the minimum wage, she voted against the ordinances in fear of how it would negatively impact a business district that has had a resurgence. “I am concerned about the impact,” she said.
Trustee Leonard voted against the wage increase which he viewed as a “fatal blow” to small businesses, but voted in favor of the sick leave ordinance. “Sick leave will also be difficult for small businesses. However, I think it will be a stinging difficulty, rather than a fatal difficulty,” he said.
Trustee Kurzman was the only trustee to support both ordinances, noting that the issue had a human element. “This issue is about people. The downtown needs to be built on a foundation that is not low wages,” he said.
President Bob Bielinski said that he would direct the matter to a board committee, that would re-examine the issues without feeling rushed. While expressing support of a state-wide minimum wage, President Bielinski stopped short at a local action on the issue, and raised concerns of damaging a thriving business community.
“I am really worried about discouraging new restaurants in Wilmette because there are less expensive areas nearby,” he said.