WILMETTE – A working group comprising residents both for an against the minimum wage and paid leave ordinances will be formed to study the contentious issue as it applies to Wilmette.
“We want to make sure we all come together as a community of neighbors. This is an opportunity to hit the reset button,” Dan Sullivan, the village trustee who chairs the committee, told the 30 or so residents gathered at a village finance committee meeting November 13.
On June 27 the Village Board voted to opt out of two Cook County ordinances that were to take effect on July 1. The wage ordinance raised the minimum wage from $8.25 an hour to $10 an hour beginning in July 2017, with $1 increases through 2020 (bringing it up to $13), and then set to CPI thereafter. The sick leave ordinance provided 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.
On August 18, Village President Bob Bielinski charged the Finance Committee with the task of gathering and analyzing data relevant to this issue and presenting their findings to the Village Board.
Since then, community groups have staked out their positions on both sides of the issue. The Wilmette-Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce spoke out against the ordinances in June, urging the board to opt out. Other residents, such as the Wilmette Justice Team, a group that formed in response to the village’s action, believe Wilmette should follow the Cook County ordinance.
Bielinski also sparred with Wilmette resident Jeff Axelrod over the issue at a September board meeting, according to an article published in the Chicago Tribune. President Bielinski has also received criticism for addressing the issue in a President’s Letter in October 2017/January 2018 Village Community.
Sullivan suggested forming a working group comprising residents and members of the business community with varying views. Both Senta Plunkett and Stephen Leonard — the other two trustees who are members of the finance committee — agreed with Sullivan’s suggestion.
“I think it should be balanced and a group that feels free to speak openly without any reservations,” Leonard said.
While Sullivan specifically asked residents not to “rehash what happened” but share ideas of what the finance committee should be studying moving forward during public comment, most residents and business owners who spoke shared their views about the Cook County ordinances.
“I think it is unconscionable for someone to work 40 hours per week and take home $17,000 or $18,000 per year,” Marilee Cole, a member of the Wilmette Justice Team, said. While Wilmette resident Tom Scanlan expressed his support of the Village Board’s decision. “You don’t think of the unintended consequences of this idea,” Scanlan said.
Nonetheless, residents did share some ideas of what the focus should be moving forward. Allyson Haut, co-president of the League of Women Voters, urged that the decision-making process going forward is transparent and without bias. Wilmette resident Brian Fabes suggested that they review the sick leave and minimum wage separately, since the issues are very different. Almost everyone who spoke said that local businesses, workers and residents should be consulted.
The finance committee discussed the idea of recruiting a volunteer as the leader of the working group, possibly a formerly elected official. The village will be seeking five to 7 volunteers through the end of November, which the finance committee would review at another public meeting. The goal is to bring a recommendation for the working group to the village board by December 14, so the group could begin studying the issue by the new year.