‘Many live paycheck to paycheck’: Shutdown will impact local workers, airports and services, stakeholders say

Consequences of the government shutdown that started Wednesday will be felt directly in Illinois where over 45,000 federal employees have jobs, stakeholders said.

The fallout could disrupt travel at O’Hare and Midway international airports, impact the federal courthouse in Chicago and suspend U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pollution monitoring locally, among other problems.

The shutdown, which followed a congressional impasse on funding, will also have a personal and economic toll on Illinoisans, mostly from Chicago and the suburbs, who work for the government.

Many staffers at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, which serves Illinois and five neighboring states, will be furloughed until the dispute is resolved, said American Federation of Government Employees official Nicole Cantello.

“And that means (about) 1,000 people will be out of work — not working for the American people to protect their air and water. They will be sidelined and also will not be drawing any pay,” explained Cantello of Chicago, who worked as an EPA attorney.

Essential workers such as U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers will still remain on the job although many won’t be paid. Also, U.S. mail and Social Security checks will continue to be distributed.

“We’re extremely worried about the loss in pay and so much of our good work protecting air and water, making sure everyone’s water is clean — all of that will not be done,” Cantello said Tuesday. For example, pollution inspections will be suspended, she noted.

During the 2019 government shutdown that lasted 35 days, an increase in sick leave by TSA agents and air traffic controllers caused lengthy waits at some security checkpoints and delayed flights across the nation.

“The damage to the system is exponential,” said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines aviators.

“Every day that passes, there’s more damage to the system. Not only for those who are furloughed and the processes they handle like hiring (or) the modernization of the FAA system, but it puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on those folks coming to work without a paycheck,” added Tajer, a commercial pilot from Arlington Heights.

“Many, many people live paycheck to paycheck and just paying for child care becomes an insurmountable challenge.”

Officials with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said all court employees would be required to report to work but there are only enough funds left to pay salaries through Friday.

“The administration is working on extending the paid operations through Oct. 17, but they currently have not confirmed that the judiciary will have enough funds to do so,” a spokesperson said Wednesday.

“All civil litigation involving the United States of America as a party will be impacted. The lapse in appropriations requires a reduction in the workforce of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other federal agencies, particularly with respect to prosecution and defense of civil cases.”

There are also concerns about insufficient funds to pay jurors in criminal and civil cases as well as grand juries.

The Trump administration had threatened to fire thousands of federal workers if the shutdown occurred. “We are deeply concerned that we’ll get a notice that the agency is giving us 30 days and we will be fired,” Cantello said.

The Congressional Research Service lists 45,213 civilian employees in Illinois, however that does not include some departments such as the U.S. Postal Service.

Meanwhile, one suburban social service leader said she’s hoping future negotiations to end the shutdown between lawmakers result in preserving funding for Medicaid, housing and SNAP (formerly Food Stamps).

“If people can’t afford to pay their health care and their groceries — their likelihood of becoming homeless is higher,” said April Redzic, president of Wheaton-based DuPage PADS, which works to end homelessness.