A judge in the Metro East has issued a temporary restraining order to keep Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration from imposing contract terms onto state workers.
The order this week comes after the Illinois Labor Relations Board last month issued an opinion saying contract talks between the state and AFSCME were at an impasse. That ruling let the state impose final contract terms.
The major public-employee union recently went to labor-friendly St. Clair County asking the court to bar Rauner from taking action to implement the contract.
The union says a hearing could take place January 13 or sooner.
Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly says that ``with this order, AFSCME's hand-picked judge blatantly ignores'' the Labor Board's decision.
