Chicago are getting caught in a back and forth at City Hall.

That's after older people last week reversed their own 2023 vote.

That would phase out the tipped minimum wage.

Mayor Johnson said he would veto that reversal measure.

The original ordinance marked a compromise between the Illinois Restaurant Association in the mayor's office giving restaurants 5 years to prepare for the end of the tipped minimum wage in 2028.

Well, giving workers annual 8% raises.

But restaurant groups say the raises have cut into their already thin margins.

While others say it helps the city's lowest paid workers Sept joining us to help with the whiplash are Gina laugh.

Director of community engagement with Chicago, hospitality, accountability and advocacy database or Chad.

She's also a tip service worker.

Molly Pash, a director of strategic partnerships at Chad.

She's also worked at a number of hospitality establishments in a variety positions.

So no Oliver attempt server at the Bronzeville Winery.

Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.

Thanks to all of you for joining us.

We appreciate it.

Thanks for having Let's start with you, please.

So as we mentioned, when this measure initially passed in 2023, it was supposed to have been compromised between your association and the Johnson administration to give.

>> Restaurants of runway time to prepare to roll this inning to get to the elimination.

What changed, OK?

So we have always and always will be against elimination of Tip credit.

>> But I did agree to 5 years.

Kuz 2 or 3 years would have been too much.

There's a lot of misinformation out because by law, every share needs to make minimum wage.

Right now.

Minimum wage in the city.

Chicago 16, 60 an hour.

The tip credit wage is 12.

62 show.

If a server does not make $3 and $0.98 in tips, then the employer needs to rounded up.

95 1% of the independent restaurant here in our 77 communities have a payroll company and that will rounded up.

So again by law, everybody needs to make minimum wage.

And if they're not, you mean the employer needs to around that up.

>> Okay.

So it's new 0 was opposed to But did something change more recently?

>> Yet show, you know, we know that since up since 2020, product cost is going up.

31% tariffs and everything else going on.

probably a little bit higher now specially was going on in the Middle East and labor costs is off.

35%.

I used to say the restaurant industry was an industry of nickels and dimes.

Now it's an industry of pennies and nickels.

We know over 400 Porter 96 restaurants closed in the 1st half 2025. here in the city Chicago.

All you have to do is look up and down or commercial streets like 79th Street 53rd Street Lincoln Avenue, Western Avenue, Lawrence and see all the empty store fronts.

Quite a few empty storefronts and I worry about the like I said, the 17 wards touched a 25 municipality's that go right into summer's show.

really hurt and lot of independent restaurants here in the city of Chicago, OK?

So it sounds then like, you know, reality of implementation, those slow, it's actually proving to be more damaging as a result of other factors.

cost every again, our eyes do not lie on.

You have to is and down the commercial corridors in see all the empty storefronts.

Okay.

do want to get you in your How do you see the city council's reversal?

>> I feel like it's up a trial to all low-income workers.

Have I larger women in the city?

>> We have the largest share of single mothers of any private sector that we are getting a pay cut to during astronomical affordability crisis.

And yes, restaurants are feeling especially the small independents, the mom and pops those rising costs of products are also the rising cost of groceries at the store for that worker making.

That's a minimum tax wage.

beyond that, that data points of the city's own data show that over new rate of licenses in the sector is higher than it was over the past 5 years higher than it was in 2019 before the pandemic.

So this rhetoric that, you know, the industry is collapsing is not supported by the data.

And I do want to acknowledge I know it's very difficult for a small mom and pops.

They do.

But I do not think the solution is to reach into the pockets of the workers to try and subsidize that risk of owning and operating.

I don't think it has to be either or I think there are a lot of solutions that I wish the Illinois Restaurant Association but invest their considerable resources into exploring like lobbying at the state level for reducing payroll tax like asking the city to build out a robust urban farm system that can provide produce and other products that restaurants to get a much lower cost and considering the war in Iran in the way oil prices are spiking, we're going to see food costs.

Go so high over the next few months.

Not just because the cost of transporting food across the world, our global economy.

But because farmers cannot before the fertilizers, they need to grow the food.

So this idea that it's just because tipped workers are making a dollar to more of a year.

That's why seeing all these restaurant closures.

That is not the whole story.

And I'm so tired.

Workers always bearing the brunt of this conversation.

Tonight.

You you worked as a and you're also an advocate of a limp, eliminating the sub minimum wage.

And how tell us a little bit about your work and how this has worked?

yeah, absolutely.

I have been a restaurant worker for the past 14 years of my life.

It is one of the it's the only job I've ever known.

I've only been a tipped worker.

>> for me throughout my experience with in the restaurant industry, I'd say about 75% of the establishments that I've worked out.

I have experience which that.

>> And it has forced me to go on to different spaces and figure out.

How to meet that.

That gap in the minimum age that I'm not getting, I help support my 75 year-old mother who just survived cancer.

And usually it comes down to the brink of every cent in my paycheck matters.

Can I pay rent on time or am I able to get medicine for my mother?

This is a very serious matter for me because it up it affects me personally and it affects many of the people I love as well.

And in 2025 we saw that the city data show that tipped workers got a $3300 pay bump because of that phrase.

>> That is a lot of money for tipped.

Workers may not meet the a lot of money for someone who makes almost $500,000 as a lobbyist, kind of tipped workers.

That's the difference between a 40 at the center paying your rent out Senate.

Yeah, I want to get you know, and here it something that a lot of questions and limited amount of time.

tell us a little bit about your experience.

Yes, I've been in this industry.

I work in Bronxville Winery, nabbing a tipped worker for almost 20 years.

I'm also a single mom.

I have 3 children.

My mother is also Helling from cancer.

And so I understand what it's like to count every penny.

>> The to the matter is that these kinds of policies actually don't help tipped workers like myself because what happens is what happened just yesterday to a worker at Boswell winery, whereas shift was cut.

So instead of having 2 servers working on a Sunday shift because it would be packed.

We have only one server work and I had several ships cut last week.

What's happening is that, you know, owners of these restaurants aren't able to come out of pocket and pay more money on top of what they're already paying.

And the 2 of the matter is that tipped workers in the city make close to $30 an hour.

I know that I do working Wrightsville, working at Brownsville Winery because we offer a really great menu.

We have customers that appreciate the service that we offer.

They enjoy that the food that's offered there and the to, of course, the service.

So I just feel like this law is a one size fits all lot.

We don't need a sledgehammer policy need surgical care when it comes to figuring out what's going to be the best way to, you know, kind of deal with the issues at hand.

This policy is going to obliterate the restaurant industry, especially in communities like Bronzeville and South Shore and under-resourced communities.

Okay.

So real real briefly, Gina, we heard a Chanel about $30 an hour is when it comes out to 2 for her.

>> Approximately what would you say?

You're making an hour.

I want to say is somewhere ranging probably about 16 to >> 20, depending on what season, what time the data is, what shift?

I'm working.

I also want to know that, you know, we're not taking into consideration.

Also all the others, all the other took to employees who are working it.

Sandra Servers who are getting this high pay but also bussers food runners hosts.

We also need to be advocating for their voices because they're also part of this giant ecosystem of the restaurant.

so and I think we have have that the rest my work out.

Yes, they are.

And brother.

Also receive a portion of last summer's to keep it going, though, because in a social media post, the mayor's office says, quote, in the 2 years since the one fair wage ordinance has been affection, cargo has enjoyed a net gain.

>> 1344 food business licenses.

While the license renewal rate has jumped to 83% more hospitality workers were employed in Chicago in December 2025.

Then they were in July 2024.

Sam, I'm gonna come back to you on this to use a restaurant struggling retail food licenses.

You have to understand a gas station has a retail from places that are showing potato chips or peanuts or?

>> Yeah.

convenience stores and manufacturers you show that's not broken down.

And yes, mayor did say 83% of the restaurant's renew their license, but that's still one out.

Every 5 restaurants are failing.

That's why you see all these empty storefronts up and down our commercial street.

Think about state.

Think it's 83 is like a a C average.

You that's not that's not great.

And we do know full-service restaurants are down 7800 jobs.

Mayor Bowser in Washington, D.C., I was limited to tip credit wage, too.

They were a year before us and then she saw over 3200 jobs.

And she also saw a lot of empty storefronts show.

What she did was, you know, reversed at in said we're going to have to tip credit wage.

I think it at 25% were saying 24% on a good.

You don't mean you'd think we definitely understand.

You need to take care of your team So because just we're almost out of time.

Molly, what is your reaction to that and how should we be balancing?

We're measuring the health of the restaurant industry is at restaurants, closing versus license renewal rate.

I mean, obviously there are other measures, right?

Employees losing their hours.

Employees not being paid enough.

How do you measure the health of the restaurant industry?

I I come from the child project.

You're always going to be worker focus because workers are the lion's share of the people in the restaurant industry.

And so the claim that workers are making across the board.

>> Across the city at 29 in our is just not supported by city data.

The city own Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection has shown that 67%.

That is two-thirds of workers are making less than $30,000 of year as annual income.

So all I am so glad you're making a packed, a Brownsville winery.

I want that for all the folks who don't work as on by say award winning restaurant.

I want that for the folks who are working at the corner I want that for the folks who are working at the corner I don't I want every worker to be able to make but dignified wage to know that they can count on.

That weighs in the slow seasons.

And I wanted to be for everyone because also when you raise the wage and everyone's out a full minimum you can share tips across the house, which is a for back house right next to you.

And I think it's important just to reiterate that we everyone makes minimum wage right now by law.

>> All restaurant workers have to make minimum wage.

However, for people like me who are servers, you're a server because you want to make well above that.

And so not every restaurant is going to have the kind of menu that will lend itself for everyone to get that money.

But I'm happy that everyone is making But this loss make it really difficult for me to to keep Bronzeville winery in so many other that and unfortunately, that is where we'll have to leave it on because obviously a lot of passion and feeling about this is very important to all of you.

Obviously.