Earlier this month, Republican State Rep. Jerry Long voted against giving women equal pay for equal work when he voted no twice — once in committee and once on the House floor. The bill, HB2462, overwhelmingly passed 91-24 in the House. At a time when Illinois is in crisis, I find it difficult to understand why Rep. Long would choose to vote against a bill that would help so many women, especially in his own town of Streator, where the post-industrial economy has hit working families hard there. If the Republican Party touts itself as the party that promotes family values, wouldn’t helping working women earn a decent wage help stabilize families? More families rely on women’s salaries as men continue to deal with the effects of the Great Recession.
According to the Institute of Women Policy Research, when single mothers earn equal pay for their work, they are less likely to receive services, such as Medicaid or income security, from the government. This saves money in the long run. Over a 40-year period, women on average lose $434,000 to career wage gaps with college-educated women losing even more — $713,000 over the course of their career, according to the Center for American Progress. With the revenue problem in the state of Illinois, I would imagine lawmakers would support the idea of equal pay for equal work, so that women would pay more taxes to help address some of the fiscal issues plaguing the state.
I am disappointed in our state Rep. Jerry Long and his vote against women!
Jane E. Moran
Oglesby