Caterpillar sues to block Illinois law

Caterpillar filed a lawsuit last week in an attempt to bar Illinois from enforcing an amendment that prevents companies from using temporary workers in place of strikers. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, contends the law violates the national labor act and Caterpillar’s 14th Amendment right of equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich changed the 30-year-old state act in question last week when he signed an amendment to it.