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Unions: Workers relieved by construction ruling

SPRINGFIELD — Union officials say Illinois workers should welcome a court ruling that upholds a massive statewide construction program.

AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan says the ruling protects a program that puts Illinois "solidly at the forefront" in job creation.

James Sweeney of the International Union of Operating Engineers said Monday's Illinois Supreme Court removes "a black cloud" hanging over jobs that support hundreds of thousands of people. A ruling the other way could have interrupted those jobs or killed them completely.

The Supreme Court rejected arguments that the law creating the $31 billion public works program improperly mixed different subjects in one piece of legislation.