An increase in the Illinois minimum wage would help working families hardest hit by the recession and provide a boost to the economy. During the 2011 legislative session, Illinois lawmakers introduced a measure to increase the state minimum wage across four years to $10.65 per hour, and a similar proposal is expected in the 2012 legislative session. Had it been enacted, S.B. 1565 (97th General Assembly, State of Illinois, 2011) would have given more than 1.1 million of the lowest-paid workers a raise, providing more than $3.8 billion in increased wages for directly affected workers.