Sen. Brady says Illinois’ Minimum Wage Should Match the Federal Rate

Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady says the minimum wage in Illinois is too high to be competitive and it should match the federal rate.

But Brady stopped short Friday of saying he would roll back the state wage... which will go to $8.25 an hour July 1... if elected in November. The state senator from Bloomington says the federal wage of $7.25 should be uniform across the nation so that states with lower rates than Illinois' don't steal jobs away. A Democratic-controlled Legislature and governor adopted a four-year process that upped the state wage each year. This year's bump is the final step.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn said earlier this week he "fought hard to increase the minimum wage in our state.