By Megan Crepeau
Redeye Chicago, December 4, 2014
... Local businesses are recalibrating their plans after the [Chicago] minimum wage increase, which starts phasing in next year with a bump from $8.25 to $10 on July 1. ... Not all Chicago business owners oppose the increase.
“I was excited and happy that it passed,” said Elizabeth Colon, president of Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions in West Town. “I’ve had my company for eight years, but I’ve never paid minimum wage to anyone. I just felt that I wanted talent and I wanted someone to be really committed to our company.”...
The new wage will affect about 31 percent of Chicago's workforce, according to a report by Emanuel's minimum wage working group—meaning more than 400,000 Chicagoans will get a raise. That population is disproportionately black and Latino, and their median age is 33, according to the report. ...
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