AFSCME Council 31, which represents roughly 350 employees, says the move violates the state’s Employment of Strikebreakers Act, which classifies such conduct as a Class A misdemeanor. According to the complaint, the striking members involved work as building services, grounds, and dietary employees responsible for maintaining student dormitories and preparing meals in campus dining halls.

David Greising, of the Better Government Association: “And as happens in Illinois too often, the legislature could well pass a momentous bill — one that could shift hundreds of millions of dollars in tax burden from megaproject investors to their neighbors and even the state — without serious study of the knock-on impacts on property owners, local governments and the state budget.”