The Illinois Supreme Court is not ready to weigh in on whether state employees can be paid while the government's in gridlock.
A St. Clair County judge has authorized the comptroller to pay workers' salaries. Problem is, a Cook County judge had ordered the opposite in a separate case.
Both are being appealed - and there's a chance those could likewise end in contradictory rulings.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan says that creates an opportunity for confusion. Not to mention political headaches.
Madigan had asked the state's high court to do away with that chance, by taking up the question itself.
Days later, she has her answer.
Illinois' Supreme Court justices issued a two-word response: motion denied.
