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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

Judge Says Shutdown Could Have Long-Term Negative Effects On Federal Workforce

A federal judge suggests the protracted government shutdown will hurt the federal workforce in the long term. 

Ruben Castillo is Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. His court has dwindling funds to pay employees and is set to run out January 25th.  He says the poor treatment of government employees, especially the lack of pay, will make young people think twice about seeking out work in the federal government.

“When they get the choice of ‘Do I work for my government or do I work for the private sector?’ they’re going to keep in mind this long shutdown in making that calculation," he said.

Castillo also says the furloughs and lack of pay aren't just hurting morale in the short-term. 

“I think the net loss to this country is going to be a lot larger because people with seniority who can retire, they’re going to leave the federal workforce and they’re going to go into the private sector,” he said. 

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