Teens would get same pay as adults under bill

Gatehouse News Service

State Journal Register
Published Thursday, March 13, 2008

Teenagers would get the same minimum wage as adults under a bill approved by the Illinois House Labor Committee Wednesday.

Sponsoring Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said it is unfair that the state allows employers to pay people under age 18 a minimum wage that is 50 cents an hour less than that paid to adults.
“You could have two individuals side to side doing the same job and earning different salaries,” Fritchey said. “It’s discrimination.”

However, Rob Karr of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said the wage differential is an incentive for employers to hire younger workers, especially during summer months.

“As business tries to do more with less, you have to have some incentive to hire during the summer months,” Karr said.

Without it, he said, businesses may fall back on making experienced employees work longer hours or try to find ways of mechanizing jobs.

Illinois’ minimum wage is $7.50 per hour and will increase to $7.75 per hour July 1. By 2010, it will be $8.25 per hour.

House Bill 5141 now goes to the full House.

Pension boost

A bill to put more money into underfunded state pension systems cleared the House Judiciary Committee on Civil Law.

Under House Bill 5088, money from unclaimed property in state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ office would be given to the pension systems with no reduction in the amount that must be paid to them out of the state’s general account. In some years, the state used the unclaimed-property money to reduce the amount that had to come out of general state taxes.

“Instead of allocating what they pledged, policymakers currently use the unclaimed property money to replace a portion of the funds they’ve committed,” Giannoulias, who is promoting the bill, said in a written statement. “We want our funds to add to what the state is contributing so the unfunded pension liability gets paid down more quickly.”

Or, as the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Robert Molaro, D-Chicago, put it: “We have participated in a shell game.”

Last year, Giannoulias said, his office transferred $333 million to the state that was supposed to be split between the five state-funded pension systems. Only $187 million ended up there. The other $146 million was held back to help the state meet its pension payments this year, he said.

That effectively gave lawmakers $146 million to use on other expenses, rather than paying down pension debt. The pension systems have an unfunded liability of about $42 billion.

Married caregivers

Full-time caregivers who are married to disabled people would be eligible for Medicaid payments under a measure a Senate committee approved unanimously Wednesday.

The Senate Human Services Committee advanced Senate Bill 2112 to the Senate floor.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, said he was inspired to seek the legislation after hearing from constituents, including Dennis and Kathi Kupferschmid of East Peoria.

Kathi Kupferschmid was told she could receive caregiver payments only by divorcing her husband, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. It has paralyzed everything but his eyelids.

In Illinois and most other states, full-time spousal caregivers cannot receive Medicaid payments, though other caregivers can. SB2112 would lift the restriction in Illinois.

Koehler said he didn’t know exactly how many people would be eligible for the payments if the measure becomes law, but that the number would be “relatively small,” perhaps in the dozens.

“The intent of this is not to open this up so wide that we’re just inviting abuse,” he said.

Another sponsor of the legislation is Larry Bomke, R-Springfield.

Randy Wells, director of legislative affairs at the Illinois Department of Human Services, told committee members Wednesday the agency has some problems with the legislation but doesn’t object to it “philosophically” and is willing to work with Koehler.

Alcoholic energy drinks

A Senate committee voted 8-2 for a measure intended to discourage minors from buying and consuming energy drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine.

The Senate Executive Committee advanced Senate Bill 2472 to the Senate floor. To become law, the bill must pass there and in the House and be signed by the governor.

The sponsor of the legislation, Democratic Sen. Heather Steans of Chicago, said labeling on the

beverages often resembles labeling on beverages that don’t contain alcohol. That can confuse consumers, she said.

Steans’ bill would require the alcohol-caffeine drinks to display a sticker clearly identifying them as alcoholic.