“It’s been a long, long, long time coming,” said Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, a Maywood Democrat who has sponsored numerous minimum wage bills, including the one signed Tuesday and another then-Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed in 2017. “And so many people deserve the opportunity just to feel hope, to feel like they can go to work and come home and have dignity and pride and respect in what they do. This is our first step in giving them that opportunity.”