Illinois military workers back on job; some 2,500 at Great Lakes

Thousands of civilian employees furloughed last week at Illinois military installations as part of the federal government shutdown are headed back to work.

Scott Air Force Base spokeswoman Karen Petitt says most of the affected 3,500 civilian workers were notified Sunday they should be back on the job Monday. They represent about two-thirds of the non-military staff of 13,000 employees at the base east of St. Louis.

At the Great Lakes Naval Training Station at North Chicago, many of the 2,500 furloughed civilian workers also returned. Senior Chief Abigail Lehtinen says it’s not immediately clear exactly how many of the workers are back at the Navy’s only boot camp in the U.S.

The callbacks come after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered 350,000 furloughed military personnel back on the job.