Chicago’s Minimum-Wage Retreat

The City Council votes to repeal a law championed by Mayor Brandon Johnson

By Michael Saltsman. Excerpts:

"Servers and bartenders already earn more than minimum wage, especially in Chicago, where a typical restaurant worker reportedly earns nearly $30 an hour between the lower base wage and tips."

"The tipped minimum wage was created nearly a century after the abolition of slavery."

"Between 2015 and 2023, the tipped minimum wage rose by nearly 75%, from $5.45 to $9.48." 

"Once-robust restaurant employment growth in the Chicago metro area, which rose as high as 5.6% in 2015, turned negative in the last years of the decade."

"In the first year after the mayor’s minimum wage hike, new restaurant and tavern licenses—a key indicator of industry health—dropped by more than 8%."

"nearly 500 restaurants closed in the first half of 2025, and 70% of the restaurants that responded to the association’s poll reported cutting staff or reducing employee hours"

"Alderwoman Samantha Nugent, . . . said her constituents were suffering from the mayor’s good intentions"