Although the fight has been going on for years to get the minimum wage rate in Chicago to $15 an hour, there is some momentum to help make that happen. Starting July 1 minimum wage workers in the city will make $12 an hour. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is making an effort to increase the minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2019. Hopefully it won't be much longer after that that the rate can go up again to the desired $15 an hour. About 367,000 workers will see an increase in their paychecks. Progress.