Gov. Quinn: Breakfast is bananas on minimum wage

CHICAGO, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said four days into his weeklong project to live on a minimum wage budget that bananas for breakfast help him watch his "pennies."

Quinn said he's been eating light to help him stretch out his weeklong budget of $79, which the Democrat said is the amount a full-time minimum wage worker has left after paying for housing, transportation and taxes in Illinois. Other politicians taking the Live The Wage challenge have budgeted $77 for the week based on the federal minimum wage.

The governor's project, which began Sunday, is aimed at drawing attention to his efforts to raise the minimum wage.

"I had a banana again for breakfast," Quinn told Alton, Ill., radio station WBGZ Tuesday.

"That's three days in a row, and you have to watch your pennies, and I think it is important to understand that there are many families in Illinois -- great families -- who are working hard and are getting the minimum wage, which is $8.25 an hour. That is not enough. We've gotta raise that wage."

Quinn proposed a $10 minimum wage for his state earlier this year, but the idea was rejected by lawmakers.