Illinois state minimum wage: $15.00/hr. Higher rates apply in Chicago and Cook County.
Illinois reached its $15.00 statewide minimum on January 1, 2025 — the final step of the six-year increase schedule passed in 2019 (PA 101-0001). The rate stays at $15.00 in 2026 with no automatic CPI indexing built in. But that's only the floor: Chicago has its own ordinance ($16.60+) and Cook County has another. The highest applicable rate always wins.
State Minimum Wage Floor
Enforces $15.00/hr as the IL state floor. Routes to Chicago or Cook County rates when location-eligible. Highest applicable rate is the controlling floor.
What those rules do as an Illinois shift is created.
The hero card configuration: Block below state floor, Flag on local-rate routing. Here's what each does at runtime.
When a manager attempts to save a non-tipped Illinois shift at a rate below $15.00, the save fails with the controlling rate identified. "Cannot save: rate is below the Illinois minimum wage floor."
When the shift location resolves to Chicago city limits or Cook County (suburbs not opted out), the higher local rate becomes the floor. The shift card surfaces the controlling rate and source ordinance.
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Three-jurisdiction routing — highest rate controls.
Illinois has the most layered minimum wage structure of any Midwestern state. The state floor is $15.00. Chicago has its own ordinance updated annually each July 1. Cook County has another. The highest of state, county, or city applies.
Statewide floor without indexing
Illinois reached $15.00/hr on January 1, 2025, completing the schedule from PA 101-0001 (signed by Governor Pritzker in 2019). Unlike Colorado (state CPI), New York (formula-based), or California (statutorily scheduled), Illinois has no automatic adjustment built in. The rate stays at $15.00 until further legislation.
Chicago and Cook County overlay
Chicago has its own minimum wage ordinance (currently $16.60/hr for 4+ employee employers as of July 1, 2025) that adjusts annually each July 1 based on CPI. Cook County has a separate ordinance that calculates the higher of federal, state, or county-CPI rate — though it currently mirrors the state. Some Cook County municipalities have opted out.
Teambridge resolves the right floor for every shift, every location.
Three jurisdictions, opt-out municipalities, and an annual Chicago adjustment make Illinois the most operationally complex Midwestern wage state. Teambridge handles the routing.
Shift address → jurisdiction.
When a shift is created, Teambridge resolves the work location to its applicable jurisdictions: state, Cook County status, Chicago city limits, or other municipality with its own ordinance.
Floor = max of all applicable.
For each shift, the system identifies all applicable minimum wages and selects the highest as the controlling floor. The shift card displays the controlling rate and source.
July 1 update automatic.
When Chicago announces its annual CPI adjustment in spring, Teambridge surfaces affected workers for batch uplift effective July 1. No per-worker editing required.
Cook County municipalities flagged.
Some Cook County municipalities have opted out of the County minimum wage ordinance. Teambridge maintains the opt-out list and applies it to address-based routing.
Still evaluating? Get a free Illinois compliance audit.
Send us your existing Illinois scheduling and pay configuration. Our compliance team returns a written audit within 5 business days — every Illinois-specific exposure ranked by risk and back-pay liability.