Illinois Guard furloughs to affect 1,300

$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$Associated Press$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$

Illinois National Guard and Air National Guard says more than 1,300 of its civilian employees will be taking unpaid furloughs as part of the automatic federal spending cuts that kicked in last month.

Capt. Dutch Grove tells the Belleville News-Democrat workers will be taking 14 days of furloughs through the end of this fiscal year. Those workers include 230 at Scott Air Force Base in southwestern Illinois.

He says those furloughs are set to start in mid-June, but that details on how that will play out remains unclear.

The Scott base employs almost 5,600 civilian workers. It is located near Mascoutah. Base officials say those exempted from the furloughs include firefighters and others who hold jobs are considered essential for base safety and security.