By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – With lawmakers back in Springfield, it’s the season for rallies at the Lincoln statue outside the Capitol. 

Tuesday a couple of dozen people in pink caps and pink T-shirts called for eliminating the subminimum wage in Illinois. That’s the hourly wage for workers who rely on tips to make up the rest of their income.

“Eliminating the subminimum wage is the right thing to do for workers,” said State Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) to cheers. “It’s the right thing to do for businesses, and it’s the right thing to do for our state’s economy.

And One Fair Wage president Saru Jayaraman has a ready answer for those who argue, for example, giving tipped workers a raise will drive the price of a basket of wings to twenty dollars.

“I’m a professor at UC-Berkeley,” she said. “Many years of study show that, in fact, employers actually incorporate the price of the wage, because what happens is you see less employee turnover, greater efficiency, workers stay longer.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].