Brady Backs Off Minimum Wage Proposal

By aaroncynic in News on Jun 30, 2010 7:30PM

After criticism from Governor Quinn and the press, Bill Brady has changed his mind on his proposal to lower the state's minimum wage. Brady has flipped on the issue, saying that “we should allow the federal minimum wage to catch up to the state minimum wage,” rather than lowering it to $7.25 an hour. Speaking at the City Club of Chicago yesterday, Brady implied that the state minimum should be frozen until the federal minimum wage catches up to $8.25 an hour. Brady then went on to target state employee pensions, saying that the state should switch to a completely employee funded 401K system. He also defended his votes against state mandates that health insurance plans cover mammograms, pap smears and contraceptives. Citing his own business experience, Brady said he couldn’t afford to provide health care for his employees but it worked out because they “had a spouse that worked at a place that gave it to them.” Which goes for everyone in the state, right? Right?