User:Kymani.hill11

kymani hill https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2020%2F09%2F04%2Fbusiness%2F03wagetheft1-print%2F03wagetheft-01-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2020%2F09%2F03%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fwage-theft-recession.html&tbnid=RhWk9MIPqwqK5M&vet=12ahUKEwjl_L66i9btAhVlneAKHUpRCjoQMygBegQIARAw..i&docid=iLrEqJ6y_74sHM&w=1600&h=901&q=kymani%20hill%20chicago&ved=2ahUKEwjl_L66i9btAhVlneAKHUpRCjoQMygBegQIARAw

My name is Kymani Hill. I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I have worked in the restaurant industry for the last six years. I want to thank the Committee Chairperson and the other Members of the IL Senate Executive, Labor, Commerce, and Economic Development Committees and the IL Legislative Black Caucus for the opportunity to share my story and lift up the struggles of all of my brothers and sisters in the restaurant industry who work for tips. I started working in restaurants when I was still in high school, at age 17. I started as a prep cook and server working in the Chicago Bears Stadium. I would bring food and drinks to the customers who were watching the game from the special boxes. It was very fast-paced, and I would hustle to get tips from the customers. I worked there for four years. At the end of 2018, I started working as a server at a small restaurant where lots of taxi drivers would come to eat and drink tea. It was a 24-hour restaurant, and it worked for me to work in the restaurant on the overnight shift because I had other jobs during the day. I was helping my mom, and I needed the cash. Even though the subminimum wage for tipped workers in Chicago is $6 an hour plus tips, the owner would pay me $5 in cash for a 12-hour overnight shift, and then I’d earn a few dollars in tips on top of that. The busiest days were Fridays and Saturdays, and I’d walk home with $10 in cash on those days.