SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) voted Thursday to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.

“Wages have remained unchanged for years despite worker productivity being at an all-time high,” Peters said. “It has been too long since the working class people of our state have received just compensation for the labor they provide. I'd like to thank Senate  Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford for her years of hard work on this extremely important issue, and I'm honored to have voted for the bill that finally let her achieve her goal.”

The legislation is Senate Bill 1, which would gradually increase the minimum wage in steps from its current level of $8.25 per hour to $15 per hour by Jan 1, 2025.

Peters also recognized the hard work of activists and organizers who fought for an increase.

“This would never have been possible without the efforts of great organizations like the Fight for Fifteen movement,” Peters said. “I want to personally thank them for their diligent work in organization and outreach that helped to finally deliver the relief that struggling working class families have desperately needed for the past 30 or 40 years.”

The legislation will now be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Please click here to check out this event on Facebook!

Please click here to RSVP if you plan to attend so we can get an accurate headcount!

Note: the previously announced location on Feb. 14th has been changed and the previously announced event on Feb. 28th has been cancelled.

Chicago – State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) released the following statement after Jason Van Dyke received a sentence of 81 months for his 2018 conviction of the murder of Laquan McDonald:

“Jason Van Dyke’s sentence only further exposes the injustice that is inherent in our criminal justice system.

“The biggest issue with this sentence is the double standard. Had Van Dyke been someone different – for example, a young black person – he’d have gotten a much longer, much harsher sentence, but because he has the privilege of being a white police officer, he has gotten a slap on the wrist.

“That issue never really gets addressed. Whenever an officer avoids consequences of killing an unarmed black person, there’s outrage, but we should not limit the outrage to days when the wrongful killing of a black person is met with indifference in court. We must be outraged and maintain our outrage at the system and the double standard that exists to allow the lack of consequences in the first place.

“As we approach Martin Luther King Day, I am reminded of one of his most poignant quotes: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ We need to address this injustice, this double standard, if we ever hope to deliver true justice to whomever inevitably becomes the next Laquan McDonald.”

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) joined colleagues on Wednesday to be sworn in to the Illinois State Senate, replacing former Senator Kwame Raoul.

Peters is a former community organizer who was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side. He overcame immense personal hurdles in his early life, having been born deaf and with a speech impediment, and credits his community for never letting him down.

“I hope my appointment to the Senate shows other young people that it doesn’t take bootstraps to succeed – it takes community,” Peters said. “As senator, I will give back to those who gave me a chance by focusing on issues important to my district, like a balanced budget, criminal justice reform, clean energy jobs and quality public education.”

Peters has also been named secretary for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. He will represent the 13th Senate District, which stretches along Lake Michigan from downtown Chicago through the South Side.

For more information on Senator Peters and to contact him, visit his website at www.senatorrobertpeters.com.