Sangamon Sun

State Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) wonders why Gov. J.B. Pritzker doesn’t seem to see the same thing everyone else does when he looks at Illinois' economy.

“Everyone’s struggling, especially our small businesses,” McClure told the Sangamon Sun. “Every few days, you’re hearing something about a business that can’t open up again or reading a post about others letting us know that they’re on their last legs if things don’t drastically change and they get a lot more business. You just wonder how Pritzker can be missing all this.”

McClure said he’s left with that impression based on the governor’s actions. Despite all the state’s struggles, including most small businesses being forced to shutter for nearly three months because of the coronavirus, Pritzker has let it be known he has no intentions of delaying the statewide minimum wage increase set to soon kick in.

On July 1, the state’s minimum wage climbed to $10 an hour with another $1 increase set for Jan. 1, 2021. By 2025, the minimum wage will jump to at least $15 an hour.

“I really don’t know what the governor’s thinking right now in pressing forward with this,” McClure added. “All of our small businesses need our support right now and that starts with acknowledging that not many of them can afford something like this right now. The worst-case scenario is a lot of people are going to lose their jobs because these businesses can only afford to pay so much. For many of them, we’re approaching a bridge too far.”

McClure said the trickle-down effect is almost as crippling as the act itself.

"Many of these businesses have partners and when they’re hurting that means their partners are also impacted,” he said. “All of it is just something more to hurt the economy at a time when we really can’t afford it and are just trying to rebuild our economy.”