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The federal and state laws regarding pay, overtime, breaks, FLMA, sick leave, vacations, shifts, leaves of absence, minimum wage, and other matters relating to pay rates and times are very complicated. Below are links to pages direct from the United States department of Labor that address many of the common questions around these topics. In 2023, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. That became effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws that raise it above this. In cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage.
DOL FLSA wage poster - Note: This Poster last revised: April 2023 (previous versions, including the August 2016 version, no longer fulfill the posting requirement and should be replaced)
Work Hours
Leave
Minimum Wage
Overtime
Recordkeeping & Reporting
Regulations & Standards
Termination
Wage Determination
This is not legal advice, but my understanding is that those Federal mandatory break rules ONLY apply to minors (under 18 years old). Of course, there are a few regulated industries, like airline pilots and truck drivers that have breaks written into law, but for most of us, it is just our employers policy. And they can always fire us for failing to follow their policy, but we don't have a practical recourse if we don't get the breaks as promised.
Now, some states have their own rules that may apply. Here's a good summary: http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/rest.htm
As to the question regarding what you are paid for, that's really a case-specific issue that would have to do with your contact and terms of employment. Again, I'm not a lawyer, but common sense says the company could have a policy requiring those breaks and since you are not performing work during them, you wouldn't be paid for them. According to the table on the page referenced above, Illinois, your state, only has protection for hotel workers, so it looks like you wouldn't be entitled to pay for the breaks.
