The government has shutdown, and tens of thousands of federal workers live in Illinois.
Will this shutdown be merely an inconvenience for those workers, or could this be something different?
Here’s what to know.
How many federal employees are in Illinois?
Illinois has 44,784 federal civilian employees as of December 2024, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
How many shutdowns have there been in recent years?
This shutdown is the fourth under President Donald Trump.
Over the last five decades, there have been 21 federal shutdowns. The longest one lasted 35 days, which was from December 2018 to January 2019 due to a disagreement between Congress and the Trump administration over funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
More: Timeline of US government shutdowns over last 50 years
Can federal employees in Illinois be fired during the shutdown?
White House budget director Russell Vought has ordered agencies to consider mass firings rather than instituting furloughs, the Washington Post reported.
Instructions to agencies from Vought’s Office of Management and Budget include guidance on rewriting regulations surrounding federal grants and challenging Congress’s constitutional power over spending, the report said.
Places near you that may now be closed
More: Here’s what a federal government shutdown could look like in Illinois
During government shutdowns, federal employees throughout the country either work with pay, work without pay, or they furloughed with no income. Some federal employees are deemed essential, such as law enforcement and those involved in national defense.
National parks, monuments, and other sites close to the public, with rangers furloughed and facilities shut down.
Transportation Security Administration agents who operate security at airports, as well as air-traffic control workers are required to work. Some airports in past shutdowns have struggled with staffers not showing up to work, though, which forced some operations to be suspended.
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Government shutdown: Could federal employees in Illinois be fired?
