For the past two years in Illinois, Restaurateurs have worked hand-in-hand with elected officials on an issue that greatly affects us: the minimum wage.

With projected employment in 2014 of 515,600 people and over $22.3 billion in annual sales, restaurants are a crucial employer in Illinois. We are also an important entry point for many young workers, immigrants with limited English speaking abilities, and low-skilled employees.  This opportunity is crucial as it often imparts workers with the skills they need to find new employment.  In fact, national statistics show that about one in three workers has at one point or another worked in a restaurant.

More importantly, as the employer of the largest percentage of minimum wage workers in Illinois, we are greatly familiar with this issue and how it affects businesses.

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Due to this broad experience, we support a reasonable, fair increase in the minimum wage.  Senator Kimberly Lightford of Maywood introduced legislation earlier this year to raise the wage to $10.65 and hour.  Although this would cost our members money, we voiced our support.

What we believe will be harmful to Illinois’ economy is a patchwork approach that could lead to potentially three different wages in the 28 suburban communities that border Chicago’s outer 17 wards.

Let me explain.

Currently, Chicago is proposing a $15 dollar an hour minimum wage with an implementation schedule that treats larger businesses different than small ones.  This $15 dollars is 82% higher than the current wage of $8.25 in the suburbs and 107% higher than the State of Indiana.

As a former operator myself, I can tell you that my members will move their stores into communities with that lower cost of labor.  Additionally, as Alderman John Arena of the 45th Ward stated Sunday on Fox 32 Chicago, suburban workers will flood into Chicago to compete for higher wages.

So workers in the city of Chicago can expect more competition for fewer jobs.

And this issue affects consumers as well.  When operators have to pay higher wages, they also must increase the pay for employees with seniority and experience less they leave for other opportunities.  On top of compliance with the Affordable Care Act – by some estimates $3,000 per employee – restaurants will have no choice but to increase menu prices to account for these potential disruptions.

But this issue is not just about Chicago and its neighboring suburbs.  Without uniformity, this same three-tier system can occur in locations throughout Illinois that border other states.  Politicians in the Quad Cities, East St. Louis, Waukegan, and more will feel pressure to increase wages above the State of Illinois level.  For operators who have multiple locations throughout Illinois, there is enormous potential for disruption as there will be a mad dash to find the best cost of labor.

When businesses face changing landscapes, they do not take risks or expand.  In the face of uncertainty, they will always play it safe.

Now is not the time to be throwing roadblocks in front of job creation.  With grim statistics like a recent Chicago Urban League study saying only 1 in 10 African American teens are employed currently and Illinois’ unemployment rate still over 6.5%, we need policies that will create more jobs, not fewer.

For these reasons, the Illinois Restaurant Association supports a uniform standard when increasing the minimum wage.  This provides a level playing field for all Illinois businesses and residents.  Most importantly, it is an increase that workers can count on right away.

And that increase is what workers need right now.  I was once a minimum wage worker myself and that opportunity gave me the chance to be where I am today.  We should be passing policies that give businesses the chance to expand and give more opportunities to workers out there, not less.

Illinois legislators should pass a uniform increase and give Illinois businesses the certainty they need to create jobs.

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