All Chicago businesses would be required to pay their workers the same minimum hourly wage, regardless of whether they earn tips, by July 2028, under a measure advanced on a 9-3 vote by a key city panel.

A compromise crafted by Mayor Brandon Johnson and backed by the Illinois Restaurant association will give restaurants five years to prepare for the end of the tipped minimum wage on July 1, 2028, while giving servers and other workers who earn gratuities annual 8% raises starting July 1, 2024.

While that agreement muted objections to the proposal long championed by progressive political organizations, it did not silence the debate over whether Chicago should join Alaska, California, Guam, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C. in ending the tipped minimum wage.

With the endorsement of the Workforce Development Committee, the measure heads to a final vote by the full City Council on Oct. 4.

Read More: How Brandon Johnson Crafted the Deal to Phase Out Tipped Minimum Wage in Chicago

Alds. Marty Quinn (13th Ward); Derrick Curtis (18th Ward) & Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) all voted against the measure, telling their colleagues the plan would hurt efforts to attract new restaurants to their wards, which border suburbs where eateries will not have to pay their workers who earn tips the same minimum hourly wage as those who do not get tips.

Sposato, who represents the northwest corner of the city, said the measure would be a “job and business...

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