Sun-Times file
Payroll fraud is pervasive in the construction industry in Illinois and the upper Midwest, costing taxpayers at a time of stressed state budgets, said a report from labor-supported research groups.
The report said 20% of construction workers in Illinois, about 52,000 people, suffer from payroll fraud, or what the researchers termed “wage theft.” Factoring in lost wages and benefits, the cost in state tax revenue was $186 million in 2018, researchers said.
“It’s a crime against every taxpayer. All are forced to pay more because of wage theft,” said Frank Manzo IV, policy director at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. The group completed the research with an affiliate, the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, which included findings for Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Belleville News-Democrat Illustration Now hiring signs can be found at several fast-food places and small businesses throughout the St. Louis region as the minimum wage is set to increase on Jan. 1.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
Under a law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February 2019, the minimum wage in Illinois increased in 2020 from $8.25 to $9.25 in January and then to $10 in July. This New Year, it will go up to $11.
The wage will increase by $1 each New Year until 2025 when it reaches $15 per hour. Before 2020, Illinois hadn’t seen a minimum wage increase since 2010 when it increased to $8.25.