Pritzker Signs Bill Phasing In $40k Minimum Teacher Pay

SPRINGFIELD – Some teachers in Illinois will get a pay raise starting next year, thanks to a bill that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Thursday. House Bill 2078, which passed the General Assembly in the final days of the 2019 session, phases in an increase in minimum teacher salaries to $40,000 a year over the next four years. “As Illinois’ children head back to school this week and next, this new law says to them and their parents loud and clear, we value teachers,” Pritzker said during a Statehouse news conference. The bill is aimed at relieving what many have described as a severe statewide teacher shortage in Illinois.