CITY HALL — The City Council on Wednesday voted to freeze future increases of the “subminimum wage” for tipped workers following concerns from some restaurant owners and employees — but Mayor Brandon Johnson said he plans to veto the measure.
Chicago’s minimum wage for most workers is $16.60 an hour. But tipped workers like restaurant servers can be paid a lower hourly rate, with employers legally required to make up the difference when hourly wages and tips do not reach the full minimum wage.
In 2023, Chicago became the largest city in the country at the time to independently overturn the tipped wage structure, with alderpeople passing an ordinance — dubbed One Fair Wage — designed to eliminate it gradually over five years until it matches the city’s full minimum wage by 2028.
Under that structure, the minimum wage for tipped workers rose by 8 percent in July 2024 and again last July. It currently stands at $12.62, with any tips paid out on top.
Backers argue the wage hikes are vital to support workers in industries where tips are not guaranteed and often determined by factors outside of an employee’s control. Johnson has touted the change as one of his major legislative accomplishments during his first term in office.
But the phase-out has also garnered vehement opposition from some restaurant owners, workers and the Illinois Restaurant Association, who have said it’s contributed to higher menu prices, staffing cuts and some businesses closing, among other issues.
A group of alderpeople this week forced a vote in City Council to pause the current tipped wage rate at $12.62 and do away with the further increases this year and through 2028. The ordinance passed Wednesday by a 30-18 vote, which included support from many alderpeople who had voted in favor of ending the tipped wage in 2023.
Still, Johnson — who this week called a potential wage hike freeze “irresponsible” – said at a post-council press conference he plans to veto the ordinance. It would take 34 votes in the City Council to override that decision, four more than voted in favor of the ordinance Wednesday.
“Now more than ever, we must ensure that we are doing everything in our power to protect working people,” Johnson said Wednesday. “The self-proclaimed Democrats who stripped away resources and wages from hardworking Chicagoans is shameful.”
In a statement issued after the mayor’s press conference, the Illinois Restaurant Association condemned the veto announcement.
“A veto of the ordinance would further threaten jobs, reduce take-home pay for workers, raise prices for customers, and accelerate restaurant closures in neighborhoods across the city,” the statement said.
Alderpeople voted 30-18 in support of freezing the elimination of the tipped wage for service industry workers. Alds. Jason Ervin (28th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th) were not present for the vote. Credit: Provided
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, opponents and supporters of phasing out the tipped wage held dueling press conferences with restaurant and service industry workers who rely on tips.
Supporters of eliminating the tipped wage acknowledged Wednesday that restaurants across Chicago are struggling, but they pointed to other factors — like rising food prices, utility costs and rent — as contributing to those challenges.
According to data distributed by the Mayor’s Office, the city’s restaurant license renewal rate has increased slightly since the One Fair Wage legislation was passed in 2023.
In 2022, 2023 and 2024, 81 percent of retail food establishment licenses were renewed, the city said. In 2025, the first full year after the tipped wage phase-out began, 83 percent of license holders chose to renew.
Raeghn Draper, a bartender and director of the Chicago Hospitality Accountability and Advocacy Database Project, also known as CHAAD, said eliminating the tipped wage helps give stability to service workers struggling to make ends meet.
“I have experienced firsthand the instability, uncertainty, racism and sexual harassment that comes with the tipped wage,” Draper said Wednesday. “This proposal to freeze our wages will not only hurt me, it would hurt my friends and people I care about, and it would hurt thousands of workers in this city, the majority of whom are women, young people and Black and Brown folks.”
Raeghn Draper speaks as supporters of One Fair Wage hold a press conference before a City Council meeting on March 18, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
But later Wednesday morning, restaurant owners and workers were joined by Illinois Restaurant Association president Sam Toia and some alderpeople to issue their own call for “stability” they said would come with freezing the tipped wage at its current level.
According to a survey of about 200 “full-service” restaurants conducted this month by the restaurant association, 89 percent said they have increased menu prices since the latest minimum tipped wage increase, while 79 percent said they cut employee hours.
Several restaurant owners on Wednesday said they were struggling to get by, and that the latest increase in the tipped wage this summer could put them out of business.
“I understand the idea and the purpose of what the city is trying to do, but the negative impacts I can speak to personally, it’s not sustainable,” Bronzeville Winery owner Eric Williams said at Wednesday’s press conference. “It’s not a sustainable model, and I would hate to see my servers have to lose their job and go find other work that wouldn’t be in our neighborhood.”
Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, speaks as supporters of freezing the tip credit hold a press conference before a City Council meeting on March 18, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Gina Barge, co-owner of Wax Vinyl Bar and Ramen Shop in West Town, described running a restaurant lately as “death by a thousand cuts” because of high food and labor costs. She urged alderpeople to freeze the tipped wage at its current rate.
Barge said her restaurant and bar has been busy since it opened in 2024, but she and her husband have had to scale back on staff to make ends meet.
“The tables still need to be served, the dishes still need to be washed, but the jobs disappear. Not because restaurants don’t need people, but because small restaurants like mine can’t afford to hire them anymore,” Barge said.
Bronzeville Winery owner Eric Williams speaks as supporters of freezing the tip credit hold a press conference before a City Council meeting on March 18, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
After a lengthy and at times fiery debate between alderpeople over the tipped wage freeze Wednesday afternoon, the measure was ultimately approved — the latest rebuke of Johnson by an increasingly emboldened City Council.
Johnson’s promised veto of the ordinance will be the third of his term. Last month, he vetoed a controversial measure that would have banned the sale of intoxicating hemp products, with some exceptions.
And in June, Johnson issued the first veto by a Chicago mayor since 2006 when he blocked an ordinance that would have allowed Chicago police to implement a youth curfew anytime, anywhere.
Late last year, the mayor also weighed vetoing the so-called alternative 2026 budget passed by the City Council, which did not include Johnson’s proposed corporate head tax and has been repeatedly characterized by his administration as unbalanced.
While Johnson did not veto the spending plan, he also did not sign it, meaning it went into effect in January without his official endorsement.
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