In Bloomington tomorrow night, voters will have a unique opportunity to substantially improve the lives of the city's working poor. On the ballot is a Living Wage referendum that would raise the minimum wage of city workers to $9.81 with annual cost of living increases, a figure generated to ensure employees pay no more than 30 percent of their annual income on housing (the federally accepted definition of housing affordability). If passed, Bloomington (pop. 74,975) would be the only Illinois municipality with such a provision on the books.

Supporters like Jean Pretz, a spokesperson for the Central Illinois Organizing Project (CIOP), the faith-based community organization pushing the referendum, say the emerging recession makes it even more vital that city employees are provided adequate pay. “The economic crisis that is making all the news hit our city workers some time ago because of menial wages," she says in a statement to supporters. "Some say we can’t afford Living Wage, but we believe we can’t afford not to.”

The local chamber of commerce, as well as the editorial board of the Bloomington Pantagraph, are among the naysayers. Citing a lack of clarity about who qualifies as a "subcontracted worker” in the referendum's language, the Pantagraph advises voters to reject the the bill in this editorial:

Requiring a “living wage” for all Bloomington city employees would do little to help the working poor. It could even hurt them if some jobs are cut to pay for the higher wages of remaining jobs.

The Pantagraph Editorial Board strongly recommends a “no” vote on the living wage referendum.

Research flies in the face of these assertions. According to a 2006 paper (PDF) by the Economic Policy Institute, "A detailed survey of 20 cities found that the actual budgetary effect of living wage laws had been consistently overestimated by city administrators; actual costs tended to be less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the overall budget." The paper also showed that living wage ordinances raised productivity and decreased turnover among affected firms.

Low-income Illinois workers could certainly use the boost. A new Center on Budget Policy and Priorities study (PDF), synthesized by Patrick Stonehouse, shows Illinois levies a heavy tax burden on those living below or around the poverty line.

CIOP cites a recent poll from Illinois Wesleyan University that found 58 percent of Bloomington residents support a living wage for city workers. We'll update the results tomorrow once they're in.