Ill. Senator Proposes Minimum Wage of $10 an Hour

An Illinois lawmaker is pushing to raise the state's minimum wage to more than $10 an hour -- higher than anywhere else in the United States.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Democratic Sen. Kimberly Lightford of Maywood has introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage by 50 cents plus the rate of inflation every year until it reaches the point where it's equivalent to what $1.60 an hour was in 1968. Today, that would mean an hourly wage of $10.03.

Lightford said she wants to make sure the working poor aren't ignored or forgotten.

But opponents say the proposal could cause businesses to move to other states -- especially if it comes after a recent corporate income tax increase.