Minimum-wage earners will begin seeing more money in their wallets, and senior citizens and the disabled can apply for a state discount card for prescription drugs, beginning Thursday.
The directives are just two of more than 200 laws going into effect in Illinois with the coming of the New Year.
Several ordinances are also going into effect in Chicago, including a requirement that motorists feed parking meters on Sundays on certain streets and an increase of 3 percent on water and sewer rates.
The discount card is the first tangible benefit for Illinois residents after a year of machinations about the cost of prescription drugs.
Seniors and the disabled can begin applying for the discount card over the Internet and on Friday when state offices open.
The program creates a buying club run by the state to negotiate price cuts with drugmakers and retailers. The purchasing power of the club is supposed to create leverage to negotiate lower prices.
Though the Blagojevich administration has so far declined to release details of the price cuts it has negotiated, those who buy the $25 card will save, on average, about 20 percent on the cost of their prescriptions, said Scott McKibbin, who is helping to oversee the program.
Those eligible for the card include Illinois residents 65 and over as well as disabled residents of any age. There is no income requirement. There are about 1.5 million seniors and disabled people in Illinois.
More than 3,400 pharmacies–including major chains such as Walgreens and 500 independents–have agreed to accept the card, McKibbin said. But he cautioned that not everyone who is eligible should buy one.
“This is not meant for the retiree from a company that provides a drug benefit plan. In that situation, you’re probably better off staying with that plan,” McKibbin said. “This is geared toward those people who don’t have drug coverage.”
Thousands of workers in Illinois expect to profit from another law: the hike in the minimum wage. Workers 18 and over must now be paid an hourly wage of at least $5.50, 35 cents more than the national standard of $5.15. A year from now, the wage will move to $6.50 an hour.
The move was pushed despite objections from retailers that it would hurt business and cause some companies to move to neighboring states. Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa still abide by the national minimum wage.
But state officials said those claims are overblown and by the time the minimum wage increases to $6.50 next year, more than 450,000 employees in Illinois will directly benefit from the increase.
Another wage law taking effect is the Equal Pay Act. It extends to more than 300,000 Illinois women the force of a 1963 federal law forbidding employers of salary discrimination based on the gender of workers. The law covers all businesses with four or more employees, an increase from the previous requirement of 15 or more employees.
For the first time, police officers across the state must collect data for a racial-profiling study. The officers have to note the race and gender, as well as the names and addresses, of all drivers they pull over, regardless of whether a ticket is issued. The data will be forwarded to the state’s Department of Transportation as part of a multiyear examination of drivers being targeted based on their race.
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Several other transportation-related laws are also taking effect. Teenagers younger than 18 must now complete special training to drive a motorcycle, while all new drivers under 18 will only be able to have one passenger under the age of 20 in their vehicle for the first six months they are licensed or be ticketed $75.
The same fine is in store for drivers excessively using the left lanes of expressways and not passing other vehicles.
Another law mandates that drivers fasten all children 7 and younger into booster seats. That’s an age increase from current law, which requires children 3 and under be secured in child car seats.
In Chicago, on top of the 25-cent CTA fare hike, fines for certain parking violations also will increase. The fine for parking under a fire escape, for example, will rise from $25 to $100, as will the cost of parking in front of a theater exit or entrance. For parking or standing in a viaduct or underpass or on a bridge, the fine will rise from $30 to $75. A similar increase applies for double parking.
Parking in a fire lane or obstructing the roadway will cost $75, up from $25. In addition, motorists also will be required to feed parking meters into the evening and on Sundays on certain streets.
Another law tries to provide a way for someone being held up by a robber at an ATM machine to notify authorities. ATMs now must be programmed so a customer can punch in his or her password backward, setting off an alarm to local police.
Meanwhile, anyone wanting to split their tongues into a reptile-like shape will be unable to undergo the procedure in Illinois unless a doctor or dentist does it.
Another law requires insurance companies to cover contraceptives. Also, with some exceptions for religious objections, licensed hospitals must offer pregnant women the choice of donating blood from her baby’s umbilical cord for stem cell research.
A new restriction also provides that convicted child sex offenders cannot be elected to school boards.
Another law increases to 18 from 17 the age at which someone can go to a racetrack.
The state’s Department of Insurance now will begin requesting information from insurers doing business with the state to determine if those companies had dealings involving slavery.
This year for the first time, the third Saturday of June will be designated “Juneteenth National Freedom Day” to commemorate the abolition of slavery.
And, finally, popcorn becomes the official snack food of the state of Illinois.