SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — At the start of the new year, 195 laws go into effect, changing everything from reforming the criminal justice system to who can be a substitute teacher. Here are some of these laws.
Minimum Wage Increase
The standard minimum wage for an Illinois worker is $13 per hour, starting Jan. 2023. The exceptions include children under 18 who work less than 650 hours in a year, whose minimum wage is $10.50, and tipped workers, whose minimum wage is $7.80.
There are also dollar increases scheduled for 2024 and 2025. The increases are a part of the 15 dollar minimum wage law signed into law by Governor Pritzker in 2019.
End of Gas Tax Freeze
The Gas Tax is scheduled to increase every six months, but as a part of a tax rebate law for residents, the state froze the increase from July 1 to Dec. 31 of 2022. The tax, which mostly funds Rebuild Illinois projects, will be back at the pumps starting Jan. 1. There is also another increase scheduled for July 1, 2023.
SAFE-T Act
The Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act, which was introduced by the Illinois Black Caucus as part of Black legislators’ response to the murder of George Floyd, was passed by the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021.
The act abolishes Illinois’ money bail system beginning Jan. 1, 2023. According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the cash bail system disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities and other underrepresented or impoverished...
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