Skokie opts in on county minimum wage hike, but commissioner plans lawsuit for towns that didn't

Skokie on Thursday joined Evanston and Oak Park in upholding the Cook County minimum wage and sick leave ordinances after a move to opt out failed following a 3-3 split vote.

Meanwhile, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-13th District, and author of the county's minimum wage ordinance, said he expects a lawsuit to be filed as soon as Friday against Cook County municipalities who voted not to increase the minimum wage and require earned worker sick time in line with a Cook County ordinance passed earlier this year.

"As early as tomorrow there will be a lawsuit filed against the communities that have opted out," Suffredin said in the Skokie Village Board meeting. "In the next few months we will have the majority of the towns in the county" participating in the minimum wage and sick leave ordinances.

Skokie's decision came after trustees Edie Sue Sutker, Randall Ruberts and Michele Bromberg voted not to go against Cook County's minimum wage and sick leave ordinances, which raised the minimum wage from $8.25 to $10 per hour as of July 1. The sick leave ordinances allows employees to accrue one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-skokie-minimum-wage-opt-out-tl-0713-20170706-story.html