Judge orders Illinois to continue to pay state workers

[February 17, 2017]    BELLEVILLE, Ill. (Reuters) - Illinois state workers will continue to be paid without a state budget in place after a judge on Thursday refused to rescind his previous order requiring payments.

St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Robert LeChien rejected a request by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to lift his July 15 order requiring state workers to be paid during the state's record nearly 20-month budget impasse in hopes of putting pressure on lawmakers to pass a spending plan.

(Reporting by Sue Britt; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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