SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – Illinois is one step closer to requiring workers with developmental or intellectual disabilities to make at least the full state minimum wage. The state House Labor and Commerce Committee passed the Dignity in Pay Act Monday night.

The bill would end the 14(c) certificate program in Illinois, which allows some employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Though administered by the federal government, the Illinois lawmakers can outlaw the program from being used in the state.

Doug McDonald is the CEO of Sparc, a Springfield-based organization that serves and employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He believes it’s time to end the 14(c) practice in Illinois.

“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve this,” he said. “They are human beings, they are members of society, they are citizens of Illinois just as any of us are, and they deserve the same respect, the same protections and the same pay that the rest of us receive.”

The bill’s opponents, led by state Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, fear it will put many people with disabilities out of work since organizations employing them can’t afford to pay the full minimum wage. The bill does come with a $2 million annual grant program to help offset increased costs but Meier doesn’t think it’s enough.

“If we take the workers in this program right now and we take them out to minimum wage, there’s more than $30 million missing to cover those paychecks,” Meier said.

The bill passed out of committee on a party-line vote with all Democrats voting for it and all Republican members opposing it.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, said she plans on bringing another amendment when the bill comes to the House floor. It would delay the ending of 14(c) programs in Illinois by six months from July 1, 2029 to Dec. 31, 2029. It would also require task force be created to submit an implementation plan to the legislature and governor by July 1, 2025. It would require annual progress reports on the plan’s implementation through Jan. 1 2030, and then provide up on the employment of people with disabilities through Jan. 1, 2035. The bill also requires it have at least two current 14(c) certificate holders sitting on the task force.

The Illinois minimum wage is set to increase to $ 15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2025.

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