Lawyers for Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the largest state employees' union are making their case about whether negotiations on a new labor agreement have stalled.
Rauner administration attorney Tom Bradley told an administrative law judge that the state negotiated in good faith for more than a year during "the worst financial crisis in the state's history."
Rauner asked the Illinois Labor Relations Board in January to determine whether negotiations are at an impasse. That would allow Rauner to impose his own terms for the 36,000 members with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Union attorney Stephen Yokich argued the pro-business governor has a "well-known hostility to collective bargaining." It will be months before the judge issues a ruling.
