Afternoon news update: July 9, 2015

Even though Governor Bruce Rauner has said he won’t sign a one month scaled down state budget, the Illinois House is in session to consider that very thing. It would keep some government services running through the end of the month while lawmakers and the governor continue to haggle over a spending plan.
A Sycamore lawmaker wants the house leadership to bring another spending bill up for debate. Republican Representative Bob Pritchard wants the bill creating a continuing appropriation for state workers salaries to come up for a vote. That appropriation mirrors one created for state legislators.
State workers likely to miss paychecks during an ongoing budget standoff will be able to get interest-free loans to help pay their bills. Treasurer Michael Frerichs and the Illinois Credit Union League will be offering interest free loans for credit union members. Tom Kane, president of the Illinois Credit Union League, says he hopes these loans aren't needed for long.
An Illinois appellate court has upheld a $16 million judgment awarded to the families of two people who died in a 2010 grain bin accident in Carroll County. Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. filed the appeal after a Carroll County jury awarded $8 million each to the families of 19-year-old Alejandro Pacas and 14-year-old Wyatt Whitebread.
The United States Department of Transportation released a data sheet stating that 73 percent of Illinois roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and 16 percent of Illinois bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Illinois roads are trending worse than the national average but bridge structures rate better than the national average.
The Wisconsin Assembly is debating a bill banning non-emergency abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Under the proposal, doctors who perform a non-emergency abortion after 20 weeks could be punished by up to $10,000 in fines and three-and-a-half years in prison.

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