Will County Gazette

Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Frankfort) recently urged the House to vote No on Rep. Anna Moeller's (D-Elgin) equal-pay bill that she has supported in the past, asking instead for votes on her own bill when it makes it to the House from subcommittee.

"Everyone knows I've spoken for [Moeller's] bill the last two years," McDermed said on the House floor. "This year I took a different approach and filed my own bill."

McDermed said that everyone can agree on what the problem is surrounding equal pay, but there are different remedies that should be carefully considered.

"I think that [Moeller's] bill goes too far," McDermed said of House Bill 834. "We've been unable to reach any kind of compromise on going too far in the area" of equal-pay wage.

McDermed said the legislature can do better than Moeller's bill.

"We can do things without gutting protections that are in both of these," McDermed said. "We should vote No on [HB 834] and wait for 881 to come out because I think it's a better solution."

McDermed's House Bill 881 was referred to the House Wage Policy and Study Subcommittee in February.