During a Monday afternoon press conference at 555 W Monroe Street in Chicago, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a piece of legislation that will affect the lion’s share of the state’s workers; the Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act does, after all, exactly what it purports to do through its name.
The paid leave bill – which states that a business or institution must give one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours of work that they put in – will allow for workers to use the time for anything at all, not only illness-related absences.
Illinois joins a select few states in this worker aid – only Maine and Nevada offer similar incentives and assistance – while only 14 states even require offering paid sick leave to employees at all.
In part, Governor Pritzker had this to say in the run-up to the bill signing:
Thank you so much for joining us here today for this monumental occasion. The coalition standing here stretches from business to labor legislative leaders to employment, nonprofits, industry representatives to members of my administration, and the depth of this group is what makes today possible.
I want to thank all of them for being here today. Working Families face so many challenges. And it’s been my mission to alleviate all those burdens in every way that I can. Too many people can’t afford to miss even a day’s pay. But then crises arise, sometimes seemingly small, sometimes catastrophic.
And they live in fear of losing income, vital to their family’s survival, or other repercussions at work, when their car breaks down when their child gets sick, when an elderly parent needs help, that’s the case for hundreds of 1000s of Illinois workers and millions of employees all across the nation. In just a few moments, that’s all going to change for Illinois working families. When I sign into law, the paid leave for all workers act….
It’s a law that will guarantee paid time off for Illinois workers starting January 1 2024. Today we will become the third state in the nation to require paid time off and the first among the largest states.
I’m exceptionally proud that labor and business came together to recognize the value of this requirement to employees and employers alike. I’d especially like to recognize the leadership of Rob Carr of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, as well as Mark Denzler of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, represented today by Aneesa Muthana, CEO of Pioneer Services manufacturing in Addison, Illinois.
Employers benefit from allowing employees to tend to the urgent personal matters of their lives, workers productivity increases and they often gain greater passion for their job when they can manage the stresses that they face outside of work more easily. doing what’s right for businesses and employees is the balance that we’re always looking to advance here in Illinois.
I want to take a moment to recognize that this achievement also wouldn’t have gotten over the finish line without the incredible leadership of Speaker Pro Tem Jehan Gordon booth on my left and Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford on my right; this has been a multi-year endeavor, for them and for so many others, and it’s their persistence that has led us here today.
There’s work ahead, but together we continue to build a state that truly serves as a beacon for families and businesses and good-paying jobs.
