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The Lowdown on Chicago's Newest Ordinances


The Windy City has blown a handful of new ordinances into play; some of which were met with positive praises and some with negative lash backs. The Wright Times Editorial Team chose what they believed to be the top three:

In December 2014, the City Council of Chicago had placed a minimum wage ordinance into effect to (slowly) raise the minimum wage to $13/hour by 2019. The goal of this ordinance is to increase the average earnings for roughly 410,000 (Chicago) workers, put $860 million in the (local) economy, and bring over 70,000 (Chicago) workers out of poverty. Last July, the minimum wage for non-tipped employees increased from $8.25/hour to $10.00/hour and $4.95 to $5.45 for tipped employees. It was the first (and major) pay increase and is to increase by $0.50 every July 1st. That being said, this past July 1st, the minimum wage increased to $10.50/hour for non-tipped and $5.45/hour tipped employees.

Also in the summer of 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel created and then appointed the Working Families Task Force to familiarize themselves with the issues that working Chicago families face and find solutions for said issues by developing recommendations in attempt to protect the working Chicagoans. Fast forward to this summer, the City Council passed the ability for Chicago workers to be able to earn paid sick days in June 2016. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was quoted [in regards to the ordinance] on the official website for City of Chicago as to saying, “Under this pro-work and pro-family ordinance, workers can use their earned sick time to seek medical treatment and care, but also can be used by domestic violence victims to access legal and/or judicial proceedings.” The fine print of this ordinance: (Chicago) workers can earn and use up to five of the earned sick days over the period of one year by earning one hour of sick time for every forty hours of work and be able to “roll over” 2.5 of the unused sick days for the following year. The hopes of this ordinance is to help meet the needs of working families and their employers.

Illinois driver’s licenses and state IDs received a makeover, but unfortunately, the process of getting one at the DMV has become more frustrating that before. In attempts to fight identity theft and fraud, all licenses/IDs will be made in Springfield, Illinois where they will be created with designs that contain advanced and ‘highly sophisticated’ security features. This was originally started in Southern Illinois and trickled its way to Chicago this previous July. As of currently, when it’s time to renew a driver’s license or state ID, the ‘old’ license/ID must be brought into the DMV where it will be scanned where a copy is sent to the Springfield office, the ‘old’ license/ID is then hole-punched and last, but not least, a temporary paper replacement (of the license/ID will also be given. The new license/ID will then arrive by mail five to fifteen days later. According to the State of Illinois, this time-frame gives the State’s office to investigate any possible fraud before the applicants receive their driver’s license/ID. This new system of obtaining Illinois licenses/IDs is a part of becoming compliant with the “REAL ID ACT”, which is a nationwide effort by U.S.A.’s Department of Homeland Security. For more info on the Real ID Act, please visit dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs.

The City Council passed an ordinance on Tobacco Regulations on March 16th, 2016 where said ordinance became effective as of July 1st, 2016. The current Tobacco Regulation Ordinance effects the sale of tobacco products/accessories and the sale of ‘loose’ tobacco products. The previous age to purchase/use tobacco products was eighteen years old has now been raised to twenty-one years old. However, retail employees who are ages eighteen to twenty may still sell tobacco products/accessories where they work. All tobacco products must be sold in their ‘original factory-wrapped packaging’ with the exception of cigars and pipe tobacco. This means the selling of ‘loose’ tobacco products (such as cigarettes) is prohibited and any violation this section will result in a $1,000 and up fine depending on the number of offenses committed. In October 2016, there will be more regulations applied to the sale and use of tobacco in regards to prices and taxes. For more information on the Tobacco Regulations in Chicago, please visit the official City of Chicago website.

Minimum Wage Ordinance: http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/supp_info/minimum-wage.html

Earn sick days Ordinance: http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2016/june/Allow-Workers-to-Earn-Sick-Days-to-Strengthen-Protections-for-Working-Chicagoans.html

Full list of June 2016 ordinances: http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/general/search_results.html?keyword=june+2016+ordinance&submitGSASearch=Search&numPerPage=10


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