Working for Illinois Caucus

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — The $40,000 minimum teacher salary bill, House Bill 2078, has passed out of committee on Wednesday.

Currently the state school code sets the minimum salary for Illinois teachers at $10,000 a year for those with a bachelor’s degree and $11,000 for those with a master’s degree.

Illinois is also facing a teacher shortage and last year, more than 1,500 positions went unfilled and more than 2,000 went unfilled the year before, according to the Illinois Education Association.

Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Collinsville, is the bill’s sponsor, which passed out of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on a 5-2 vote.

Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, is the sponsor of Senate Bill 10, which is on its third reading in the Illinois Senate.

Both versions of the bill would increase the minimum teacher salary in a five-year span, giving districts time to plan financially for the change.

The bill is now headed to the House floor.