Supreme Court won't take up appeal of state worker pay case

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Supreme Court won't immediately consider Attorney General Lisa Madigan's appeal of a circuit court ruling that state workers must be paid during the state budget impasse.

Justices on Monday denied Madigan's request to bypass the appellate court and take the matter directly to the Supreme Court.

Madigan argues the Illinois Constitution requires an enacted appropriation for state spending. The Democrat says stopping state-employee paychecks would hasten a budget agreement.

A judge in St. Clair County last month refused to reverse a previous order requiring Illinois to pay workers in the absence of a spending plan.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has criticized Madigan's actions. He's accused her of trying to force a government shutdown so that her father, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, can raise taxes.

Madigan has denied that claim. Her office already has filed an appeal in Illinois' Fifth Appellate District.