Pritzker fact check: Was increasing the minimum wage the ‘right thing’ for Illinois?
The governor stands by his increase despite Illinois’ unemployment rate averaging third-highest in the U.S.
In an ad for his campaign for governor, J.B. Pritzker says raising Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 an hour was the “right thing” for the state’s workers.
The data says otherwise.
The advertisement argues that after raising the state’s minimum wage, “more people are working in Illinois than ever before.” Pritzker himself goes further, saying that “not only have minimum wage workers seen their salaries increase, others have too.”
Myth: Raising the minimum wage creates jobs and opportunities.
Reality: The minimum wage destroys jobs and limits opportunity.
Evidence suggests that higher minimum wage levels lead to fewer jobs. That’s particularly true for low-skill jobs, often the first to decline in response to a minimum-wage increase.
In 2024, California raised the minimum wage from $16 to $20 per hour for workers at fast-food chains with more than 60 locations nationwide.
The change cost the state about 18,000 jobs.
Also, raises in the minimum wage hurt job growth over several years, according to a research paper from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
Myth: More people are working in Illinois than ever before.
Reality: Illinois’ employment levels are below what they were pre-pandemic.
So far this year state employment levels have averaged below what they were in 2018 and have declined in the past two years.
Meanwhile, Illinois’ unemployment rate has trended above the national average since 2019. The average rate in Illinois was 5.4% from January 2019, when Pritzker took office, to July 2026, a figure affected at least slightly by COVID. That was third-highest in the country in that time frame.
While this analysis doesn’t isolate the effects of Illinois’ minimum wage increase on statewide unemployment, the state’s broader joblessness trend paints a less favorable picture of its labor market than the Pritzker campaign advertisement suggests.
Myth: Salaries in Illinois have increased.
Reality: Illinois is one of only seven states to see wages decline.
Illinois workers haven’t seen their purchasing power grow since J.B. Pritzker became governor.
Real adjusted hourly wages in Illinois shrunk 0.02% a year on average from 2018 to 2025, making the state one of only seven to see a dip in that time.
Even if paychecks — nominal wages — are going up on average, rising pricing makes the gains basically a wash.
Pritzker’s campaign claims raising the minimum wage was the “right thing” for Illinoisians. The statement may make for good campaign fodder, but the state’s stagnant wages and weak labor market show this policy was not right for Illinois.
Related articles:
- Pritzker’s record: Illinois 5th-worst for private-sector job growth
- Pritzker’s record: Illinois unemployment rate averages 3rd-highest in U.S.
- Pritzker’s record: Illinois wages grow 0% in 7 years