LINCOLN PARK — With talk of raising the minimum wage swirling in City Hall, the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce said its neighborhood business owners are split on the issue so far.
More than 55 Lincoln Park business owners responded to a survey the chamber sent out a week ago.
The five-question survey asked members of the chamber of commerce if they support an increase to the minimum wage and why — or why not. For those that do support it, the survey asks what the new wage should be. Businesses were also asked how many employees at their company earn minimum wage.
"What we found so far, without getting into the comments, was a pretty even split," said Padraic Swanton, spokesman for the chamber. "There really wasn't a mandate from our membership one way or another."
Swanton said the chamber doesn't frequently survey its members on issues, but this was a special case.
"Minimum wage has been in the news quite frequently the past couple weeks and months and from what we've been told, the issue in Chicago has been picking up steam in City Hall," Swanton said.
The chamber regularly takes a pro-business side on city issues and most recently vocally supported and lobbied for developments such as the Children's Memorial Hospital redevelopment.
The issue of raising the minimum wage is much more of a "gray issue," and if members remain split it's likely the chamber will remain neutral.
A number of businesses have stated that they already pay their employees higher than the minimum wage and are happy to do so but do not want to be mandated.
Some responded that it would be terrible for their business while others said raising the wage to $15 would provide them with a larger customer base, according to Swanton.
The city launched a minimum wage working group this spring and began hosting public engagement meetings to help develop a plan to increase the minimum wage in June.
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