The 2025 legislative session is underway, and now is the time to educate lawmakers in Springfield about the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). While we have successfully secured unprecedented investments over the past several years, the impact of said investments was drastically mitigated by economic factors such as inflation, rising private sector wages, and the rising minimum wage. Direct Support Professional (DSP) wages are actually farther away from 150% of minimum wage today than they were in 2020 before these investments began.
Now that the Illinois minimum wage has reached $15.00/hour, we have an opportunity to make unmitigated progress in our effort to raise DSP wages and stabilize the DSP workforce. The need for I/DD services in Illinois continues to grow, but providers lack the staff and therefore the capacity to serve more individuals. In order to expand the I/DD system to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, we need to stabilize the DSP workforce. This will not happen if DSPs are not given a fair wage commensurate with the value they bring to provider organizations and the daily impact they have on the lives of thousands of individuals with I/DD.
State Representative Laura Faver Dias and State Senator Dave Koehler have introduced House Bill 2788 and Senate Bill 1690 respectively to set DSP wages at 150% of the minimum wage. This would be a $2.00/hour increase to the DSP wage rate and would satisfy the top recommendation of the state-commissioned Guidehouse Study.
This legislation is a critical step in our effort to expand I/DD services in Illinois. Without a DSP wage increase, providers will not be able to meet the need for services, leaving thousands of individuals with disabilities without services which impact their daily lives and well-being. There are already more than 16,000 individuals with I/DD on the waiting list to receive services, and providers lack the staff and capacity to support any more people.
We need an outpouring of support from you, our dedicated grassroots advocates, in order to raise DSP wages to 150% of minimum wage. Take action on the campaign today to urge your legislators to support HB2788/SB1690 and spread the word about our advocacy efforts. Together we can make a difference!